Fadnavis Meets Japanese Officials, Assures Fast-tracking Of Mumbai - Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured the Consul General of Japan in Mumbai Fukahori Yasukata of fast-tracking infrastructure projects like bullet train, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Fadnavis gave the assurance on Wednesday during a meeting with Yasukata and other Japanese officials.

Besides Yasukata, Deputy of the Mission Kaneko Toshilhiro and other senior Japanese officials were also present at the meeting.

Apart from the high-speed rail project (bullet train), which will connect Mumbai and Gujarat's commercial hub of Ahmedabad, the JICA funding is also coming for the Mumbai Metro-3 line and the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) projects.

MTHL, once completed, will be the longest sea bridge in the country with a length of 21.8 km.

Fadnavis, in a social media post, said, ''We discussed JICA-funded projects like Bullet Train, MTHL and Metro-3 line. I assured them that this government is committed to fast-tracking all these projects and ensuring timely completion.''

Measures Taken By Shinde-Fadnavis Govt To Expedite Bullet Train Project

After taking office on 30 June, the Shinde-Fadnavis government expedited the land acquisition process in Maharashtra.

In a letter to the new Maharashtra government, Satish Agnihotri, the chief of the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited who was sacked last week, pointed out that progress on land acquisition in Maharashtra stood at 72 per cent, and only 39 per cent was under physical possession.

Also, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has ordered the removal of a structure of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited on a 4.2-hectare plot at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), which is the starting point of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train route and is earmarked for a terminus of the high-speed train project. The structure is to be removed before September this year, reports say, clearing way for a station with six platforms and a three-storey underground structure.

A 21-km-long tunnel, including a seven-km-long undersea twin tunnel below Thane Creek, planned between the underground station at BKC and Shilphata as part of the bullet train corridor, was also delayed due to the MVA government's unwillingness to grant clearance for the project.

With Fadnavis announcing clearance for all pending projects which are part of the bullet train corridor, the BKC-Shilphata tunnel is also likely to see progress.

(With inputs from PTI)