Financing agreed for high speed line PPP

CHINA: A consortium led by the Fosun conglomerate has agreed a 28·1bn yuan loan package with a group of banks to finance the construction of the first high speed line in China to be built and operated under a PPP concession.

The 269 km Hangzhou – Shaoxing – Taizhou line is being developed by a joint venture of Fosun (51%), state-owned China Railway Corp (15%), Zhejiang Communications Investment Group and the government of Zhejiang province.

The loan package was agreed on April 30 with China Development Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and two other banks.

The overall cost of the project is put at 44·9bn yuan. Opening is planned for late 2021, with the concessionaire then operating the line for 30 years. The line will be built for 350 km/h operation and serve nine stations.