South Korea has undertaken measures to be better positioned in a bid to win the lead role in an international tender to be held next year for the Malaysia-Singapore high-speed railway project. For successful bidding, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently reorganized a public-private joint consortium to strengthen technology features and sharpen its competitive edge against Japan and China.
Under the realignment, two state-run organizations –the Korea Rail Network Authority (KRNA) and Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) – are joining hands with large Korean companies, such as Hyundai Rotem for locomotives, and KT for telecommunication for network construction. For the hardware, Hyundai Engineering & Construction is forming alliances with other major Korean builders to build networks with local firms in Malaysia and Singapore.
“We are speeding up our efforts to win the mega-size railway project by creating a more competitive financing model in cooperation with the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea. Also, we will pitch the superiority of our high-speed trains and railway system through close cooperation with the governments of Singapore and Malaysia,” said Choi Jeong-ho, vice minister for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The international bidding for the construction project scheduled to be completed by 2026 is expected to take place in the latter half of 2017.
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