Spanish cos eye high speed rail in India
NEW DELHI : Spanish transport firms are interested in building high-speed railway networks in India, said the country’s ambassador Jose Maria Ridao Dominguez in an interview with Mint. Spain, which has the second largest network of high-speed trains in the world after China according to Dominguez, is interested in exploring the sector for its private sector companies. He mentioned Talgo, a Spanish manufacturer of high speed passenger trains, as an interested party in the high-speed rail sector. Besides this, defence is a key focus for Spain, Dominguez said.
Spain’s state-owned defence firm Navantia has thrown its hat in the ring for a contract to build six submarines for India under Project 75 (I). Navantia teamed up with Larsen and Toubro for this deal in April. “Project 75 (I) requires the Indian bidder to tie up with a Foreign Collaborator (FC) and execute the programme for delivery of six conventional submarines equipped with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP), while achieving targetted Indigenous Content.
Expected to be valued at over €4.8 billion, the project is the India‘s largest defence acquisition project. This would also be followed by a 30-year lifecycle sustenance contract of similar value. P75(I) would be the first programme to be processed under the ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model of acquisition of the Ministry of Defence," says L&T’s press release announcing its partnership with Navantia.
The deal will involve a full transfer of technology from Navantia, Dominguez said. Navantia is expected to base its design on its S80 class of submarines. These were launched in 2021 and are currently undergoing sea trials.
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