MTR to build and operate Shenzhen Metro project

The Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) and the Shenzhen Municipal Government have agreed in principle on construction and operation, for a 30-year term, of a major line of the proposed Shenzhen Metro System.
 
Under the agreement, a project company to be established by the MTRC in the Mainland will have the right to build Phase 2 of Line 4 and to operate Line 4, and the right to use the facilities of Phase 1 of Line 4.
 
Line 4 is a 21-km double-track urban railway running from Huanggang at the boundary to Longhua New Town in Shenzhen, with 14 stations.
 
The line will form the major north-south railway corridor linking Hong Kong to the Mainland via Shenzhen.
 
The total investment of the project company will be approximately 6 billion yuan, with a registered capital of about 2.4 billion yuan.
 
Speaking at the signing ceremony today (January 15), Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Donald Tsang, said the investment was a milestone in Hong Kong-Shenzhen co-operation.
 
He said that after the implementation of CEPA, there had been a great increase in passenger and goods flow between the two cities. The construction of the line would further enhance this connectivity.
 
The MTRC Chairman, Dr Raymond Ch'ien, said urban railways were essential elements of any infrastructure expansion to support economic growth of fast-developing cities like Shenzhen.
 
The first phase of Line 4, a 4.5-km section between Huanggang and Shouniangong, is already under construction by Shenzhen Metro Company, which will initially operate the line.

From Line 4's launch date, expected to be near the end of 2008, the entire line will be operated by the MTR's Project Company.
 
Ends/Thursday, January 15, 2004