Bullet train will boost GSDP of Maharashtra, Gujarat: Devendra Fadnavis

State gets nod for Rs 30,000 crore loan from Japan that will expedite Metro: Devendra Fadnavis

Devendra Fadnavis, Bullet Train, Mumbai bullet train, Bullet Train Mumbai GDP, Fadnavis bullet train, Mumbai news, Indian Expres

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during the ground breaking ceremony for high speed rail project in Ahmedabad on Thursday. The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Vijay Rupani and Devendra Fadnavis are also seen. (PTI Photo)

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Thursday the high-speed bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai would boost economic growth and lead to higher Gross State Development Product (GSDP) for both Maharashtra and Gujarat. Stating that Maharashtra was fortunate to have the first bullet train in the country, Fadnavis said the Japanese government has given its consent to provide Rs 30,000 crore for infrastructure projects in Mumbai. The two crucial projects for which the state government will seek financial support from the Japanese government are the Metro network and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).

“The Japanese government has agreed to give Rs 30,000 crore for mega-infrastructure projects in Mumbai,” Fadnavis said. The state government reckons that the Japanese government’s commitment to provide loans, for both the bullet train and infrastructure projects, spread over a period of 50 years at a low interest rate of 0.1 per cent would not financially burden Maharashtra.

A source in the government said: “The total cost of the bullet train project would be Rs 80,000 crore at an interest rate of 0.1 per cent. In the first 15 years, the state government does not have to make any repayment.”

Also read | Bullet train loan rate 0.1%, free in a way: PM Narendra Modi

The state will have to bear only 25 per cent of the cost unlike Gujarat. The loan of Rs 30,000 crore for the Metro and MTHL projects would be for 40 years with an interest rate of 0.5 per cent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe performed the ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony of the bullet train project in Ahmedabad. Fadnavis, who was also present, highlighted how the investments would help fast-track projects in Mumbai.

The economic survey of Maharashtra (2016-17) pegs the state’s GSDP growth rate at 9.4 per cent. For agriculture and allied sectors the growth rate is 12. 5 per cent, for industry it is 6.7 per cent and the service sector it is 10.8 per cent. The state has set a target to take its GSDP to 12 per cent in the next fiscal.

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“We are not just laying the foundation stone for the bullet train but for a new India that is the concept and dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although Maharashtra and Gujarat are fortunate to have the first project, I believe, the benefits would extend to the entire country,” Fadnavis said.

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train will pass through 12 stations and reduce the travel time between the two cities from seven hours to three hours.

The state government has described the Japanese PM’s visit as a step forward to realising projects in Mumbai.

The 172.5-km Metro network across Mumbai worth Rs 80,000 crore has been in the pipeline for several decades. Officials believe that the soft loan from the Japanese government would help fast-track the project to provide a better and faster mode of transport for Mumbaikars. The developments would also help expedite the 21.8-km stretch of the MTHL aimed at decongesting the city and connecting the island city of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai through Sewri-Nhava Sheva.

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