High-speed rail to connect Beijing, Shanghai by 2013

The Ministry of Railways will finance 78.9 percent of the project, according to a bidding notice posted on the Web site of the ministry’s engineering center (www.rebcenter.com) seen on Saturday.

Trains on the 1,318-km (818-mile) line would run at speeds of up to 350 km per hour (220 mph), cutting travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to less than five hours from 10 currently.

The Cabinet’s National Development and Reform Commission has approved the project, the notice read. Construction is due to be completed in five years.

The notice did not say how much the project would cost or identify the other investors.

The official China Daily quoted an unidentified source as saying the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Corp will have a registered capital of 115 billion yuan (US$15.54 billion) and that regional governments will most likely be the other investors.

The ministry’s investment was raised to 78.9 percent from 35 percent because the country’s banking regulator was against domestic commercial banks and an insurer taking stakes in the project, the newspaper said.

Domestic companies interested in civil engineering work or project supervision must submit submits to a preparatory office before Dec. 17, the China Daily said. Foreign engineering consultants must team up with two Chinese partners to submit bids.

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