RIO DE JANEIRO (Kyodo) The Brazilian government announced Friday a draft of the bidding procedure for a high-speed railway construction project that a consortium of Japanese firms aims to bid for.
The consortium, led by Mitsui & Co., plans to make a pitch for a shinkansen system, with the aim of introducing bullet trains outside Asia for the first time, according to sources.
The winning bid is expected to be determined around next May. The only shinkansen system built overseas so far was in Taiwan. Mitsui also headed the group of Japanese companies that built that system, which began operating in 2007.
The Brazilian project will involve construction of a high-speed railway system over a 510-km route between Rio de Janeiro and the industrial city of Campinas, via Sao Paulo, in less than two hours. Companies in European countries and South Korea have also expressed interest in bidding.
Brazil wants to see the new system up and running in 2014.