Thaindian News

Chennai, June 16 (IANS) With Tamil Nadu’s AIADMK government pitching for mono-rail, Japan, a major lender for the Chennai metro rail project, hopes that the new state government does not put this project on the back-burner.

“I had mentioned about the project briefly to the chief minister (J. Jayalalithaa) yesterday (Wednesday),” Japanese Ambassador Akitaka Saiki said Thursday, adding he hoped it will be completed.

Japan is the major lender for the Rs.14,000 crore metro rail project, a pet project of the erstwhile DMK government.

While the central and the state government will fund the project to the tune of 41 percent, the balance will be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

India is the largest receiver of assistance from Japan Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the past eight years, Saiki said at a luncheon meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

Taking a dig at the previous DMK government, he said: “We had requested the previous government to address the infrastructure issue. But there is not much of a progress.”

According to him, Jayalalithaa assured him that the issues would be addressed.

Saiki said investment does not happen automatically as businessmen have their own logic while choosing an investment destination.

“Businessmen would put their money where they get better treatment,” he said.

Referring to the issues in infrastructure development in India, he said: “The buck does not stop anywhere. We want the buck to stop somewhere.”

Referring to the $10 billion bilateral trade between Japan and India, Saiki said the volume is expected to improve once the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) comes into force this August.

“The bilateral trade between the two countries is only two percent of Japan’s total exports,” he said.

According to him a big trade delegation led by Japan’s Chamber of Commerce chief is expected to visit New Delhi and Chennai later this year to explore business opportunities.

Saiki expressed concern at the restrictions placed on the import of Japanese food products by the Japanese nationals here on the fear of radioactive contamination following the nuclear reactor accident in his country.

“This is too much. The food in Japan are tested and marketed after that. Those food items that Japanese nationals in India want to eat are stopped,” he said.

Asked about the labour strike at Maruti Suzuki’s car plant near New Delhi, he said the company officials have told him that the issue is under control and there is no fear of further fall out.

Speaking at the event, CII’s southern region chairman T.T. Ashok said Tamil Nadu is the host for around 240 out of more than 700 Japanese companies in India.

He said the bilateral trade target of $25 billion for 2012 is modest given the potential.

Ashok said Japanese companies can invest in Indian steel and pharmaceutical sectors.