The Delhi Metro’s expansion plans got a boost with Japan keen to participate in its future projects as well as carry out feasibility study for the capital’s mono rail systems and urban transportation.
“We met the Japan International cooperation agency (JICA) officials on Wednesday and talked about participation in Metros, and also to look if they can do a study for mono rail systems and urban transportation,” the Urban Development Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, said after meeting officials of the agency here.
“We are now at phase III of Metro, we will then take up phase IV. When we take that up, its completion would produce the largest Metro in the world,” he added.
Mr Nath said that the Japanese funding agency, which had extended financial support for all the three phases of Delhi Metro’s expansion, had shown enthusiasm for future expansion plans too.
“JICA is enthusiastic working on it. We are hopeful that phase IV will also be done by them,” he said.
The Minister, who is on a visit to Japan, said this on the sidelines of the India-Japan Business Summit jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Indsutry and Japanese industry chamber, Keidanren.
For Delhi Metro’s phase III expansion, JICA has already promised loans for approximately Rs 14,000 crore, which form about 40 per cent of the project cost.
Mr Nath also said that India had a lot of catching up to do on infrastructure.
“India has huge infra deficit. We need to built airport, roads, highways. In every sector of infra, we will be catching up with past, we will not be building for the future. That is the main difference in Japan where there is a new level of infra, while in India we are catching up with deficit,” he said.