India's high-speed rail is miserable! Japan's "gift package" is more funny than imagined, why has this project become a "loss joke"?
The world is really getting more and more exciting, and the stories of various great powers competing are endless. Have you paid attention to the recent high-speed rail project in India? Don't look at India has always claimed to be a cemetery for foreign capital, but this time it really made people laugh. Not long ago, the 100 billion high-speed rail project was cut off by Japan, and India actually said that it was a blessing. Hey, what the hell is going on? Let's break them down one by one.
Talking about overtaking China, but before the infrastructure was repaired, they began to play with high-speed rail. India's dream of high-speed rail probably even thinks it's a joke for themselves. To talk about the construction of railways in India, it is simply a level that makes people cover their faces. The railroad left behind by the British is still in use, oh my God, how many people have been lost? But India** doesn't see it that way, they are still the same ambitious people who want to build a perfect transportation system. It's a pity that due to the poor command ability of the first class, it has not been able to meet the domestic railway standards to this day.
Okay, okay, if the railway can't do it, then let's play the high-speed rail! If you have the ability to fix it, you can't fix it, so find someone else to fix it. I remember that in 2015, India decided to build a high-speed railway connecting nine cities, which is definitely a big project, with an amount of hundreds of billions of yuan, which is no joke. As a result, multinational companies, including China, came to participate in the bidding, and everyone thought that this big order must be China's at first, and we have the most experience in building high-speed rail overseas, or the lowest.
However, things get confusing. Japan actually managed to snatch this big order from us! As soon as the news came out, there was an uproar in the country, and everyone felt that this was India's decision for political reasons and non-economic. And the Japanese side was so happy that they praised it decently, and said that it was a great blessing brought by Prime Minister Jinsan. However, the inside story behind it makes people laugh and cry.
* In order to win the deal, Shinzo promised Modi that Japan would provide 112 for IndiaThe low-interest loan of 600 million yuan has an annual interest rate of only 01%！And it also gives India a 50-year repayment period and a 15-year grace period, which is simply a gift of money! What's even more outrageous is that in 2017, India got a low-interest loan of 880 billion rupees through Japan**! What is this? It is obvious that it will make India happy and let the Japanese economy gain some benefits.
As soon as this happened, Chinese netizens Coke was broken, and they almost danced directly. Even the Japanese themselves are beginning to wonder if this high-speed rail project will not be a big hole, right? As a result, the reality turned out to be unexpected. In order to win this order, Japan not only provided India with low-interest loans, but also asked Indian workers to learn Japanese railway construction technology. Funnily enough, it's not just a sale, it's charity, right?
However, all this seems beautiful, but it is difficult to hide the truth: this high-speed rail project has become a bloody project for Japan. The project was scheduled to be completed in 2022, but it was postponed to 2023 due to the pandemic, and later to 2028. However, Japan** believes that even by 2038, this high-speed rail will not be built. Why?
If you want to build a high-speed railway, you have to acquire land, but in India, land acquisition is not the case. First of all, India's political system is quite complex, with intricate relationships with local governments, and land acquisition projects are progressing extremely slowly. Some places may have been close to completion as early as 2018, while others have only completed 30% of the land acquisition in 2021. This can't help but make people sigh, is the local ** in India going to cooperate if they get benefits?
And even more troubling, the peasant problem in India. Despite its large population, India is mainly dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. Compared to China, it is more difficult for them to accept land expropriation, because if they lose their land, they cannot go to the cities to work, and their livelihoods are severely affected. In addition, India** has lax enforcement of domestic laws, but strictly follows the regulations for foreign-funded enterprises. According to Indian law, a 70% approval rate is required to expropriate land, which is a huge restriction for foreign-owned enterprises.
As a result, Japan** statistics show that they have invested nearly 150 billion yuan for this high-speed rail project. However, the land acquisition project has not yet ended, not to mention that under the influence of the epidemic, Japan's input costs have also increased significantly. This makes people feel that this high-speed rail project is simply an absolutely loss-making project in Japan, and it is not so easy to get off the ship.
However, the reality is harsh. The high-speed rail project has become a boon for Japan, with a lot of investment and little prospects. The land acquisition project has been delayed again and again, and Japan's investment has become more and more passive. As for the completion of the project, it has been postponed several times, and some Japanese ** even believe that this high-speed rail project may never be completed.
Why is this happening? First of all, the issue of land acquisition has always been a big problem. Due to India's political system, local autonomy is relatively large, resulting in poor coordination with local governments and slow progress in land acquisition. The progress of land acquisition in different places is uneven, and some have even been delayed. This has greatly hindered the implementation of the entire project.
Secondly, the problem of farmers in India is even more troublesome. Farmers in India have a harder time accepting land expropriation than in other countries. This is because India's farmers are largely dependent on the land for their livelihoods, and losing it means losing their livelihood. Unlike in China, these peasants do not have easy access to urban employment, so they are more resolute in protecting their land. This makes land acquisition for high-speed rail projects extremely complicated.
In addition, the restrictions on foreign-owned enterprises under Indian law have added a lot of uncertainty. According to Indian regulations, a 70% approval rate is the minimum requirement to carry out a land acquisition project. This puts Japan in an awkward position in land acquisition and makes it difficult to advance the project as expected.
In general, the dilemma of this high-speed rail project is not only a technical problem, but also a huge social system game. Japan** has had to make a trade-off between high investment and a delay in seeing tangible results. This reminds one that India's choice of Japan may have really been part of the political game.
Time flies, and the prospects for this high-speed rail project seem to be getting darker. Both political considerations and practical operations have made this project a mixed drama of joy and sorrow. Japan's "gift" made India laugh and say nothing, but it also buried a difficult situation for itself. Perhaps, on this world stage, every country needs to keep its eyes open and choose partners carefully, because every decision may involve a huge social system, and one mistake will be irreversible.