Hitachi may work on Manila subway
Japanese engineering giant Hitachi, builder of the Shinkansen high-speed railway lines, has expressed interest in participating in the Philippine government's plan to improve the transport network in Metro Manila.
Hitachi chairman and chief executive Hiroaki Nakanishi confirmed this at a press briefing after the opening of the Social Innovation Forum, a two-day event in Tokyo that the company organised. Nakanishi said Hitachi and Japanese and Philippine officials were in talks about projects aimed at improving the railway system in the Philippines. “On the subway, we have already started the discussions on making clearer feasibility studies about that,” Nakanishi said. “The next step will be the formulation of a feasibility study.”
However, Nakanishi said he could not provide other details about the possible partnership.
Hitachi, a century-old Japanese firm, has shifted its focus from producing electronics and hardware products to big infrastructure projects such as transport networks, energy systems, and urban development. The Japanese conglomerate is best known as the builder of Japan’s “bullet train”, the Shinkansen.
