Taisei Corporation indicted by Japanese authorities for bid-rigging

Colombo (News1st): Two Japanese"super general contractors" admitted in court to bid-rigging for contracts in a $81 billion project to build a super-fast maglev train line that will connect Tokyo and central Japan. Japanese Authorities have indicted four Corporations including Taisei Corporation. Taisei corporation incidentally in involved in the present administration's Central Expressway project, Phase 3. The four contractors in question had colluded to maximize their profits after learning that operator Central Japan Railway Co. was aiming to drastically reduce construction costs. The four companies had been gathering information about sections of the maglev line work since 2008 when the government instructed JR Tokai to flesh out details of the massive project. The four constructors tried to divvy up the contracts for Shinagawa and Nagoya stations so that they all had an equal share. After the February 2015 agreement to collude on bid-rigging, Taisei and Kajima intentionally proposed higher bids than Obayashi and Shimizu with the aim of letting those two companies win construction contracts for the Shinagawa Station portion of the project. Earlier, Taisei corp was charged with bid rigging by the Japan fair trade commission and allegations were also leveled against Taisei for a sinkhole that appeared in the Fukuoka city.