China-based TZ (Taizhong) Hong Kong International has secured an INR1.7bn ($21.3bn) contract from Indian Railways.

Under the contract, the Chinese company will supply 39,000 train wheels for Indian Railways, reported The Economic Times.

The latest contract was awarded to the Chinese entity as deliveries from other countries were hit as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A senior rail ministry was quoted by the news agency as saying: “These wheels are for the Vande Bharat trains. This development can be seen as a fall out of the Russia-Ukraine crisis as there is a dearth of rail wheel suppliers to India.”

The wheels will be manufactured at Taiyuan Heavy Industry Railway Transit Equipment Company at Dianzi Steet in Taiyuan City of Shanxi, China.

TZ Hong Kong International is the international trading arm of Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group.

Indian Railways is also planning to manufacture the wheels locally in the wake of the Russian military attack on Ukraine.

Separately, the Indian Railway Ministry and Road Transport Ministry, in collaboration with the Border Road Organisation (BRO), is planning to develop the country’s first underwater road-cum-rail tunnels across Brahmaputra river in the state of Assam.

The project is expected to entail an investment of around INR70bn ($903bn).

Under the project, three tunnels will be constructed, including one for the road, another for rail, and the third one for emergency use.