Hitachi in Talks for $4.4 bln Railway Project

Japanase conglomerate Hitachi, Ltd. said it is in talks with the government for a P200-billion railway project in Clark Green City.
The Japanese builder of Shinkansen bullet trains is looking for a local partner for the project that will link Clark Green City to the Luzon rail system.

“We are working with the government and the private sector. Clark development is one of the projects we are currently trying to engage in. They need transportation,” Hitachi Chief Executive for Asia Pacific Ichiro Iino told reporters on the sidelines of the 13th Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative at the New World Makati Hotel.

“We can provide metro. We can provide light rail transit system… monorails. We have to find out the solution to meet the demands in Clark,” he added.

SHINKANSEN TRAINS
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), the agency that oversees the Clark Green City project, said it has signed a memorandum of understanding and a non-disclosure agreement with the Tokyo-based group “so that they could look at the data that we have,” although “we haven’t made a commitment yet.”

“Hitachi is very good in infrastructure and technology. They built and operate the Shinkansen in Japan, and you also see the train system in Tokyo — these are Hitachi coaches and infrastructure, so of course we are open to a partnership with them,” BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said on the sidelines of the same forum.

He said that considering the magnitude of the project, interested parties would likely form a consortium.

Source : BWorld