By Hao Zhou (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-12-07 14:33

The preparatory panel for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway announced yesterday it had begun inviting public bids for construction, project supervision, and technical consultancy for the project, according to the Beijing Times.

Related readings:  Beijing-Shanghai express rail project invites bids  Work on Beijing-Shanghai rail link set to start  Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway construction to start  Cost of Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway may rise 50%

The group will call an end to the bidding on December 17. While bidding for technical consultancy will be open to anyone in the globe, the other two areas are open to domestic companies only.

An expert panel will then be set up to grant final licenses as soon as the bidding is over. The whole project is scheduled to begin in the middle of January next year.

The Ministry of Railways will finance 78.9 percent of a total 220 billion yuan (US$29.7 billion) construction funds, significantly surpassing the previously reported 51 percent.

The local governments along the railway, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjiin municipalities as well as Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces will invest another 20 billion yuan in cash.

The remaining funds will come from domestic investors such as banks and insurance companies. It will take as long as five years to complete the project.

China’s State Council approved the feasibility report on the planned 1,318 kilometer express railway linking Shanghai and Beijing, after nearly 10 years of preparations.

The project, if completed, will be the longest high-speed rail line in the world, and hopefully the most profitable railway in China as well.

Passenger traveling time between Beijing and Shanghai by train will be cut by around 10 hours to a mere five hours.

The country has started construction on 16 new express passenger rail projects and is expected to have 12,000 kilometers of express rail lines by 2020, the Ministry of Railways said.