MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Japan and S. Korea interested in Brazil's bullet train

Japanese and South Korean corporations announced their interest in Brazil's first bullet train which is expected to be set to bid in the first quarter of next year. Brazil's cabinet chief Dilma Rousseff is currently visiting Japan where she was approached by the corporations.

The high speed bullet train is expected to link Campina, Sao Paulo and Rio do Janeiro, a project which is estimated will demand over 9 billion US dollars following on the recent cost of a similar transport system in Taiwan. France and Germany which also have bullet train technology and operating systems in their countries and overseas are also expected to participate in the international bid. Precisely this week in Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in the presence of Patrick Kron, Chairman and CEO of France's Alstom, signed a contract with Alstom and its partners Iecsa, Isolux Corsan and Emepa, for the construction of the first very high speed link in America, between Buenos Aires, Rosario and Córdoba. The signature follows the adjudication which took place on January 16, 2008. Alstom's share of the contract, which includes in particular the management of the project, rolling stock and signaling, is valued at some 1.1 billion euros. The contract will become effective subject to the implementation of the financing, (by the French company) which should take place in the coming months Ms Dilma Rousseff is in Tokyo for the celebration of the Japanese immigration to Brazil 100th anniversary. She also had talks with Japan's International Cooperation Bank which is interested in partly financing the bullet train project. The Japanese Cooperation bank is already involved in several projects in Brazil. However Ms Dilma Rousseff who previously to Japan visited South Korea said that the bullet train project bid most probably will require joint ventures with Brazilian companies, sharing of technology and a majority percentage supply of equipment manufactured locally. The Japanese consortium interested in the project, and who met with the Brazilian official, is made up of the corporations Mitsui, Kawasaki, Toshiba and Mitsubishi.