Chinese-led consortium to build high-speed rail in Mexico
Published: Thu, 2014-11-06 10:36- Likes 1
A Chinese-led consortium will build a high-speed passenger rail link between the capital Mexico City and the central city of Queretaro, a manufacturing city located 210 kilometers to the north from Mexico City. The uncontested multi-billion dollar contract was awarded to China Railway Construction Corp Ltd. No other bid was made, despite earlier interest from Siemens and Bombardier.
According to Mexican government officials, the project is expected to begin in December and the line is slated to start operation in 2017, at a cost of $3.75 billion or 50.82 billion pesos.
The high speed line will allow 27,000 passengers to move daily from Queretaro to Mexico City at speeds of as fast as 300 km/h.
According to The Diplomat, the Mexico’s underlying decision to choose China was its willingness to finance 85 percent of the project through the Export-Import Bank of China.
Sources: Reuters, The Diplomat