Chinese companies have evinced interest in investing in rail infrastructure projects in India, including mass transportation projects in two cities in the State.
The rolling stock manufacturer Changchun Railway Vehicle Co Ltd. (CNR), which had bid for the monorail project in Chennai, on Friday officially expressed its readiness to participate in the proposed light metro for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
A three-member team from the company was in Thiruvananthapuram to see the topography and visit the alignment fixed for the light metro.
Officials of the infrastructure development firm IL&FS Transportation Networks, which is working out a partnership with the Chinese firm, met officials of Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd. (KMCL), set up to execute the project, and informed them of its interest in participating in the project if it is in the PPP mode. An official of the KMCL told The Hindu that the officials were asked to give their preference in writing so that it could be communicated to the government.
The visit assumes significance as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), general consultant for the project, has submitted the detailed project report for the light metro in place of the scrapped MRTS. The team visited the road corridors developed under the City Road Improvement Project by the IL&FS. The elevated light metro has been proposed mainly through these corridors in the capital by the DMRC.
ITNL International Private Ltd., a subsidiary of IL&FS Transportation Networks, has acquired 49 per cent equity in Chongqing Expressway Group that is constructing the YuHe Expressway.
