Construction of the intercity rail between Guangzhou and Zhuhai, two southern China cities, will resume next month after being suspended for almost a decade.

 

The 186-kilometer-long line, built mainly for cargo transportation, starts in Jiangcun, north of Guangzhou, and ends at Gaolan Port, Zhuhai, said Li Kelie, general manager of Guangzhou-Zhuhai Railway Co., Ltd, which was established on Monday in Zhuhai.

 

Construction began in 1997, but stopped soon after due to lack of funds and other reasons.

 

The resumed project is estimated to cost 4.58 billion yuan (US$580 million) and will take four years to complete.

 

Forty percent of the investment will come from the Ministry of Railways, 30 percent from Zhuhai City and a quarter from the Guangdong provincial government. The rest will be funded by bank loans.

 

The completion of the rail will solve the road transport bottleneck to Zhuhai Port, on the west bank of the Pearl River Delta, said an analyst.

 

Zhuhai Port aims to increase its annual cargo turnover from current 20 million tons to 98 million tons in 2010 and 200 million tons by 2020.

 

A 143-kilometer light rail between Guangzhou and Zhuhai, mainly for passenger transportation, began construction in late 2005 and will be completed in 2009.

 

The two lines, which will form a key part of the region's transport network, will greatly boost the development of the Pearl River Delta, one of the country's major economic engines, said the analyst.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2007)