CREC on track for big Brazil deals

Two projects have a combined contract value of $2.6b

China Railway No 10 Engineering Group Co Ltd is in talks with Brazilian clients to build two big-ticket railway infrastructure projects.

The projects are to build a $2 billion port-railway-mine complex in the eastern Bahia state and for an infrastructure upgrade on the Western Railway Line, which will cost $600 million.

Cui Jun, deputy general manager of the group, says that to further optimize its business in the Latin American market, the company selected Brazil as its priority market for the long run.

The group, a subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Corp based in Jinan, Shandong province, has signed a non-binding agreement with the Bahia government and the China-Latin America Fund, a Chinese government fund, on the complex and has sent a team to the Bamin mine, port and railway siding to conduct a feasibility study. An operational plan has been drawn up, the company says.

The upgrade for the Western Railway Line is currently the subject of talks between the group and Brazil's National Railway Co. A feasibility study was started in the first half of the year.

"Growth opportunities abound in Latin America's surging demand for railways, roads and power infrastructure projects, especially in the fast-growing markets such as Brazil and Peru, where the focus is on sustainable development amid urbanization and regional connectivity," says Yang Zhuo, director of CREC No 10 Group's overseas business department.

After entering the Latin American market in 2004, China Railway No 10 Engineering Group has established companies in Venezuela, Brazil and Peru and begun to fund new projects through the public-private partnership model.

The PPP model is one in which a government service and private business venture is jointly funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more companies from the private sector.

Contact the writers at zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn