Japanese engineering consulting firm Nippon Koei announced on January 27th that a part of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) planned by the Indian government has completed, in which a group of six companies led by the firm conducted the project management work. The railway of a total length of 1,500 kilometers has been developed in two phases to transport double-decker containers. The partially opened section runs about 306 kilometers as a part of the 914-kilometer first phase. The corridor is expected to be fully operational in 2023.

Western DFC will connect Delhi, the capital of the nation, with Mumbai, the second largest city. The project is part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Initiative jointly promoted by Japan and India. It has been approved as the Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan project and is being carried out under the Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP) scheme in which the use of technologies owned by Japanese companies is highly promoted. When fully opened, WDFC will be able to cut down the transportation time from three days to one day. Nippon Koei along with five other engineering firm including Oriental Consultants Global, and Chodai are in charge of procurement of equipment such as power systems and trains, and construction supervision in the first phase of the project.

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and other officials from the two countries attended the opening ceremony held on January 7. (2021/01/28)