Japan firms plan shinkansen bid for Brazilian railway project+

TOKYO, Dec. 19 Kyodo -
A consortium of Japanese firms led by Mitsui & Co. plans to make a pitch for a
shinkansen system in a tender by the Brazilian government for a railway
project, with the aim of introducing Japan's bullet train system for the first
time outside Asia, sources close to the matter said Saturday.
Brazil announced Friday a draft of the bidding procedure for its high-speed
railway construction project in the southeastern part of the country, with
tenders expected to be accepted next spring and the winning bid to be
determined around May.
The only shinkansen system built outside Japan so far is that in Taiwan which
began operating in 2007. Mitsui also headed a group of Japanese companies that
built the system in Taiwan.
The Japanese consortium seeking the Brazilian project worth around 4 trillion
yen, including about 1.75 trillion yen in construction costs, will also include
firms such as Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.,
and the Japan Railway group is also set to cooperate, the sources said.
Toshiba would be in charge of the transportation system and Hitachi the train
cars, while Mitsubishi Heavy would oversee the overall construction operation,
the sources said.
The Brazilian project involves planned construction of a high-speed railway
system over a 510-kilometer route connecting Rio de Janeiro and Campinas, an
industrial city, via Sao Paulo in less than two hours.
Brazil wants to see the new system up and running in 2014 when the country
hosts the World Cup soccer tournament.
Companies in European countries and South Korea have also expressed interest in
taking part in the bidding with full backing from their respective governments.
==Kyodo
2009-12-20 00:58:56