China Railways Wins $4.8b Indonesia Contract

SHANGHAI, Mar. 25 -- China Railway Group said on Thursday that it had won an Indonesian coal transport contract worth $4.8 billion.

The long-term contract, equivalent to 14 percent of China Railway's operating income in 2008 under domestic accounting standards, would not have a major impact on its earnings in 2010, the company said in a statement published in the Shanghai Securities News.

China Railways will be responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of the South Sumatra project, with design and construction priced at $1.3 billion and maintenance at $3.5 billion.

The contract with Indonesia's Bhakta Hill Pan Pacific Railway Corporation includes four years of construction with an operational period of 20 years, the company said.

China is investing an average of 700 billion yuan ($102.5 billion) a year in rail construction after a rise to 600 billion yuan last year.