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NEW DELHI : Key infrastructure projects funded by Japan like the Matarbari port in Bangladesh are expected to provide an entry point for Indian business to establish a foothold in Southeast Asia, Japan International Cooperation Agency senior vice-president Nakazawa Keiichiro said. By establishing a deepwater port in Bangladesh, JICA hopes to connect India’s north-eastern states to markets in the Bay of Bengal region, Keiichiro said in an interview. In a sweeping review of Japan’s global development assistance plans, JICA praised India’s contributions to infrastructure building in East Africa. This comes in the backdrop of Japan’s development agency looking to boost its global investments in private sector projects to $15 billion in the coming years, with a focus on Indian projects. Edited excerpts:
Which projects does the JICA look to push in India presently?
JICA has been working in India since the late 1950s. During the first few decades, we helped import electrical equipment and build numerous power projects to help industrialize the country. During the 1991 economic crisis, we provided $300 million in balance of payment support. Today, most of our collaboration with India is in the infrastructure sector. We are also proud of our projects in forest restoration.
What plans do you have for the future?
Looking at the future, we are definitely looking at the projects in renewable energy. India is looking to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and also wants to provide power to the most vulnerable sections of society. Renewable technologies like green hydrogen and carbon capture technology are being studied globally, but we are very keen to help introduce these technologies once they become economically viable.
We are also looking to increase our cooperation with the private sector. Even though our loans are concessional, the Indian government is careful not to increase debt levels too much. We will now look to finance or do equity participation in private projects.
We have been doing this since 2011 and have six ongoing projects with a total exposure of $400-500 million. Most of these projects are in the realm of social impact. Globally speaking, we have committed around $10 billion to private sector projects and we are looking to increase that to $15 billion in the next few years.
Certain JICA projects like the Matarbari port seemed to hold much promise for the neighbourhood. What is the thinking behind these connectivity efforts?
The development of the Bengal bay is very important for India and other regional countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand. We are assisting the Bangladesh government in building the Matarbari Port because the country does not currently have a good deep-water port. With Matarbari, we would have a port that could be utilized by the government and the Indian private sector as a focus point to deliver goods to parts of Southeast Asia.
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