--- SEARCH ---
WEATHER
CHINA
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
CULTURE
GOVERNMENT
SCI-TECH
ENVIRONMENT
SPORTS
LIFE
PEOPLE
TRAVEL
WEEKLY REVIEW
Chinese Women
Film in China
War on Poverty
Learning Chinese
Learn to Cook Chinese Dishes
Exchange Rates
Hotel Service
China Calendar
Telephone and
Postal Codes


Hot Links
China Development Gateway
Chinese Embassies
Info
FedEx
China Post
China Air Express
Hospitals in China
Chinese Embassies
Foreign Embassies
China
Construction Bank
People's
Bank of China
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Travel Agencies
China Travel Service
China International Travel Service
Beijing Youth Travel Service
Beijing Xinhua Tours
Links
China Tibet Tour
China Tours
China National Tourism Administration

Online marketplace of Manufacturers & Wholesalers

ADB Approves US$400 Mln Loan for China's Railway Project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Friday it has decided to provide a US$400 million loan for a modern railway transport system connecting the provinces of Henan and Shaanxi in central and northwestern China.

 

The project, the bank noted, will build 459 km of railway line with nine railway stations from Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan, to Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province.

 

It will serve as the main corridor linking major cities and ports in the east to other major cities and ports in the west, the bank said in a statement.

 

It will also help link China to Central Asia and Europe.

 

The rail line will be the first of eight passenger-dedicated railway lines to be developed in China by 2020. It will link with the Beijing-Guangzhou, Shanghai-Xuzhou, and Beijing-Wuhan main lines on the east, and the Xi'an-Baoji-Lanzhou, Xi'an-Baoji-Chengdu, Xi'an-Ankang, and Xi'an-Yan'an main lines in the west.

 

Manmohan Parkash, an ADB transport specialist for railways, said given the importance of railways in China's transport system, the project will help reduce the transport constraints and high logistics costs contributing to regional economic disparities and promoting economic growth in the western region.

 

The project will serve to both increase the transport capacity of the Zhengzhou-Xi'an corridor and provide a cost-efficient transportation service that will benefit consumers and producers. As both Henan and Shaanxi are important tourist destinations, the project will also help to boost tourism development.

 

About 9.3 million people living in the project area stand to benefit from the project, with more than 90 percent of the beneficiaries living in rural areas. Six of the 17 counties in the project area are considered poor.

 

"Providing economic railway transportation in the unserved, less-developed, and poor areas will also help create conditions necessary for developing local resources and generating jobs and other income-generating opportunities to raise living standards," said Parkash.

 

ADB has provided 12 loans totaling some US$2.2 billion to finance the construction of about 1,921 km of eight provincial railways operated by joint ventures with the Chinese Ministry of Railways, and 4,138 km of new lines under the four national railway projects.

 

The total cost of the project is estimated at US$4.13 billion. The China Development Bank will provide a US$1.67 billion loan, while the Ministry of Railways and Henan and Shaanxi Provincial Governments will contribute US$2.06 billion toward the project's total cost.

 

ADB's loan comes from its ordinary capital resources and carries a 26-year term, including a grace period of six years. Interest will be determined in accordance with ADB's London Interbank Offered Rate-based lending facility.

 

The Ministry of Railways is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion around December 2011.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2005)

WB to Aid Highway Construction in North China
WB Loans Help Spread Economic Development Westward
Sino-Philippines Sign Loan Agreement on Railway Project
ADB Supports China's Railway Construction
ADB Supports China's Railway Construction with Huge Loans
Print This Page
|
Email This Page
About Us SiteMap Feedback
Copyright © China Internet Information Center. All Rights Reserved
E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-68326688