Canada's Bombardier Transportation, the world's No 1 maker of trains and third-largest manufacturer of civil aircraft, is expected to secure more contracts in China where public transport is booming.

The company will deliver more than 200 metro cars and trains to China and many other new projects are under discussion, said Pierre Lortie, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Transportation.

He went on to say the company was in talks with different parties in China about high-speed trains.

"We are also obviously interested in high-speed trains. We have the experience of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen line, which has very high performance," Lortie said.

Authorities in China are trying to lift the speed of their trains, he added.

Demand for public transport will grow quickly in China because its cities are expanding, Lortie believes.

Shanghai will speed up construction of its subway system during the next five years, extending its downtown track which is currently 65 kilometres long to 300 kilometres.

The Beijing municipal government has also pledged to expand its subway network to 300 kilometres by 2008 from the current 50 kilometres.

As the largest public transport equipment provider in the world, Bombardier has been paying attention to and getting more actively involved in the development of transport systems, Lortie said.

He said Bombardier will transfer more of its world class technology to China.

Earlier this year, Bombardier set up a new company, Bombardier-CPC Propulsion Systems Co Ltd, in Changzhou in East China's Jiangsu Province to produce advanced propulsion equipment.

As a leading civil aircraft maker, Bombardier is also eyeing opportunities in the thriving Chinese aviation market.

"I think China will become the second biggest market in the world after the United States for freight and the second after Japan for passengers," Lortie said.

Bombardier has another two joint ventures in China. The Changchun Bombardier Railway Vehicles Co Ltd has already received three large-scale orders for the production of metro trains: 156 vehicles for Metro-Line 2 in Guangzhou, 132 vehicles for phase one of Shenzhen's metro network, and additional 60 vehicles for Metro-Line 1 in Shanghai.

Bombardier Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd, in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, is the first and only joint venture between a Chinese company and foreign partners to produce inter-city passenger cars in China. It has been awarded an order of 300 high grade inter-city cars.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Business News
+The next great leap after Shenzhou V ( 2003-10-21) +Hu calls for balanced development ( 2003-10-21) +Report: SARS not airborne virus ( 2003-10-21) +Japan urged to resolve weapons issue ( 2003-10-21) +Int'l AIDS group opens Beijing office ( 2003-10-21)		+Home-appliance giants want wheels ( 2003-10-21) +Exchange-rate reform under study ( 2003-10-21) +Health insurance sector called for ( 2003-10-21) +SanDisk teams up to open outlets ( 2003-10-21) +Housing prices start to sag in Shanghai ( 2003-10-21)