The Hindu : National : MoU signed for development of Myanmar Railways

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 28, 2004

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MoU signed for development of Myanmar Railways

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 27 . India and Myanmar signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of Myanmar Railways here today in the presence of the Minister of State for Railways, R. Velu, and the Myanmar's Minister for Rail Transportation and the leader of the nine-member visiting delegation, Aung Min.

The MoU, inked by the Joint Secretary, Southeast Asia, Ministry of External Affairs, and Myanmar's Ambassador, provides that India will make available a line of credit of $ 56.358 million to Myanmar for augmenting the Myanmar Railways. The line of credit will be operationalised through a separate agreement between the EXIM Bank of India and the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank.

It has been agreed that the Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd. (RITES) will execute the project for the supply of rolling stock, components, equipment, machinery & plant to Myanmar.

RITES, which is the sole authorised export agency of Indian Railways having access to its technical expertise, will supply a package of ten 1350 HP locomotives, 48 passenger coaches of various types and capital spares of the total value of $ 28 million.

The MoU aims at improving passenger services on the Yangon-Mandalay trunk line and upgrading of tracks, signalling and communication systems and maintenance on the Myanmar Railways, which has 4,525 route km of lines.

RITES has been associated with the Myanmar Railways for a long time.

Indian Railways have supplied 68 metre gauge coaches to the Myanmar Railways during mid-1960s, 10 in-service metre gauge diesel electric locomotives, along with two years' spares and high and very high frequency communication equipment.

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