After investing in the railways and metro rail transportation in India, Japan is looking to step up its investments in the roads and maritime sectors.

A Japanese delegation led by Mr Takeshi Maeda, Japanese Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, today met its Indian counterparts in highways and shipping.

Japan has part-funded the dedicated rail freight corridor and the Delhi Metro Rail system. It is also keen on funding the proposed high-speed train projects.

The Japanese team was particularly keen on port connectivity, draft, new berths, terminals and other facilities at the Ennore and Chennai ports. Japanese firm Nissan has an interest in exporting cars from Ennore port.

“In a meeting with the Shipping Minister, Mr G.K. Vasan, bilateral issues concerning the port and shipping sectors and other issues of mutual interest such as ship-breaking, ship-building, connectivity projects to ports and exchange programmes were taken up,” an official release said. In the highways sector, Japan wants to invest in road transport management systems and intelligent transport systems. This would include offering services in the area of electronic toll management, amongst others.

Dr C.P. Joshi, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, said the Ministry is in the process of finalising a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC). “The proposed MOC will enable the Ministry of Road Transport to exchange technical knowledge and expertise in the road transportation sector, including capacity building and advanced technology for roads, road transport management systems and intelligent transport systems,” an official release said.

> mamuni@thehindu.co.in

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