China wins deal worth US$4.4b for high-speed railway in Mexico
Print Edition
CHINA’S successful bid to build a high-speed railway in Mexico has opened a new era for the country’s industry, experts said yesterday.
A Chinese-led consortium, including the China Railway Construction Corp and several Mexican construction firms, will build the high-speed railway that connects Mexico City with the industrial hub of Queretaro to the north, according to the Mexican Ministry of Communications and Transport.
With a total contract value of nearly US$4.4 billion, the Mexican high-speed rail project extends 210 kilometers. Construction is set to be done in 40 months. Upon completion, the rail will be able to transport 23,000 passengers per day, cutting travel time from about two and a half hours to below an hour.
Experts said the bid indicates the Chinese high-speed railway industry has gone global in the strictest sense.
“China is in charge of constructing the Mexican high-speed rail project and is also exporting equipment and technological standards too,” said Sun Zhang, a professor at Shanghai-based Tongji University.
“This means the Chinese high-speed railway industry, as a whole, is increasingly being accepted by the world,” he said.
To date, CRCC has participated in the construction of dozens of overseas railway construction projects, including the high-speed railway from Ankara to Istanbul, said Zhuo Lei, chairman of CRCC International Co, a wholly owned subsidiary under CRCC.
Along with the overseas deals, the company has also built a number of high-speed rails that crisscross vast regions with different geographical landscape back home. “These projects have made CRCC highly experienced,” Zhuo said.
The CRH380 bullet trains made by CSR Corp Limited, China’s largest train maker, has reached a maximum speed of 486.1 kilometers per hour in test run. The model has been operating smoothly on the Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Rail for more than three years.
Zhuo said the Chinese railway industry also has comparative advantages in construction technologies, cost control, and productivity of labor. He said the average cost for building one kilometer of high-speed rail is US$50 million among foreign firms, while China can do so at US$33 million.
Sun said China’s independent intellectual property rights and independent standards in the sector are also important in controlling costs.
He said the Mexican high-speed rail, designed with a maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour, will pave the way for China’s rail technology to expand to more markets globally such as the US.
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