India to sign deal with Japan for first bullet train

India is set to sign a deal with Japan this week on the country’s first bullet train, with Tokyo financing the bulk of the high-speed rail project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad through a $8 billion loan, a leading Japanese business daily reported on Tuesday.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will issue a joint statement on the deal on Saturday during latter’s visit to India, The Nikkei reported.Abe will convey an offer of more than $8.1 billion in official Japanese lending for the roughly $14.6 billion project to link Mumbai and Ahmedabad with 505 km railway line, it said.“The two sides are discussing financing terms that would disburse about 100 billion yen a year over a decade or so. Senior Abe adviser Hiroto Izumi and Japanese foreign ministry officials on Monday wrapped up a trip to India, during which they discussed financing and other aspects of the project,” the daily said.A deal with India would be the second successful case of Japan exporting its bullet train technology to a foreign market, following a deal with Taiwan in 2007.Japan failed to win a high-speed train deal in Indonesia earlier this year, losing out to a Chinese proposal.