China's leading railway contractor has won the bids to build two major railways in Libya, which together are worth about 3.2 billion dinars (2.6 billion U.S. dollars), according to the company.

The two contracts won by the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) are a west-to-east coastal railway from Khums to Sirt and a south-to-west railway that would facilitate iron ore transportation from southern city Sebha to Misurata as well as passenger transportation along the line.

Construction of the 352-km-long coastal railway and the 800-km-long south-to-north railway has been initially set to begin in June this year. The coastal railway will take four years to complete, while the south-to-north railway will take three years.

The CRCC won 89.5 billion yuan (12.4 billion U.S. dollars) worth of overseas construction contracts in the first 11 months of 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2008)