Japanese Ambassador refutes reports of Japan stopping funds for ambitious bullet train project

NEW DELHI: After media report claiming Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has stopped funding for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train on the pretext that the government should first look into the problems of farmers were published, the Japanese Ambassador on Wednesday refuted the claims and said that the project is on track. Japanese Ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu said that they are going to continue the fund for the ambitious project. The ambassador also said that the project would be completed within the 2022 deadline for the project. “Everything is going very well. We are very happy, there is a collaboration between Japan/Indian authorities on this project" Hiramatsu said. National High-Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL), the nodal agency for the execution of the project had also clarified that the GoI and JICA have already signed a loan agreement of about 10 billion yen and no payment is pending from JICA as on date. The country's first bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in September last year in Ahmedabad. JICA is providing a soft loan for the project. Earlier media reports emerged which claimed that the funding was stopped after over a 1,000 farmers wrote a letter asking them to stop funds citing acquirement of land by overlooking the prescribed guidelines.