Announcement of China Fifth Railway Project on September 27, 1991

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 'World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 92/16 Contact: Pastor Sison Tel: (202) 458-0344 CHINA: FIFTH RAILWAY PROJECT The following is information on a project announced in the latest issue of World Bank News. DATE: September 27, 1991 WORLD BANK GROUP SUPPORT: World Bank loan: $330 million. The loan is for 20 years, including five years of grace, with a variable interest rate, currently 7.73 percent, linked to the cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.25 percent on the undisbursed balance. TOTAL COST: $1 billion OTHER FINANCING: Government of China, Ministry of Railways, $675.6 million IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: Ministry of Railways ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1998 PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The objectives of the Fifth Railway Project are to: (a) introduce recent developments in rail technology and maintenance and rehabilitation practices in order to enhance efficiency and capacity of the Ministry of Railways; (b) develop system-wide plans and planning tools for its major subsectors; (c) develop modern planning and analytical techniques for establishing investment priorities and tariff structures; and (d) add capacity where urgently needed and justified. The project includes: (a) two system-wide components to assist the Ministry of Railways in introducing new technology for maintaining and rehabilitating track and for meeting the shortage of critically- needed items of material, components, and equipment for rehabilitating locomotives and rolling stock; (b) two capacity- expansion components to complete double-tracking of the 944 kilometer Zhegan line and to expand capacity at the Xuzhou marshalling yards; and (c) an action plan for developing and implementing the Railway Traffic Costing System, leading to the formulation of recommendations for tariff restructuring. The project will rely heavily on five studies initiated during project preparation, focusing on track maintenance and an integrated system plan for electrification, an integrated system plan for telecommunications, and a railway investment study.