The officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is supposed to provide 50 per cent funds for the proposed Kochi Metro Rail project, reached here on Wednesday.
The 10-member team will hold discussion with the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) authorities from Thursday. This is the JICA representatives’ first visit to the city.
According to KMRL officials, discussions will be held with the JICA representatives regarding the planning, evaluation of detailed project report (DPR), technology upgradation, procurement and package.
The team is also expected to have a site visit to the proposed areas of metro rail. The officials of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), who are associated with the planning and preparation of the DPR, will also attend some of the meetings. Takeshi Fukayama, senior consultant, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Japan, will lead the JICA team during the discussions.
The other members of the JICA team include organisation and capacity building expert Eiichi Yamamoto, business implementation expert Nelson Alvarez, technical expert (civil) Tsuneo Hashimoto, technical expert (signal) Reiji Ishima, operation and maintenance expert Ikuo Numata, contract expert Naoki Takesue, procurement expert Yoshitaka Yashiro, cooperation partner Takuya Inoue, assistant director (South Asia Department) Keisuke Fukui and JICA India office representative Yuichiro Sano.