Beijing-Shanghai railway bids awarded

Six companies have secured bids to build the long-discussed high-speed railway linking Shanghai and Beijing, ChinaNews reported (in Chinese). Two subsidiaries of Zhong-Tie Construction Group received bids for a combined 40% of the US$11 billion construction project, and two units of China Railway Engineering Construction Group won a combined 26%. SinoHydro Corporation and China Communications Construction Company secured US$2 billion and US$1.9 billion of the contracts, respectively. The railway construction project, the largest-ever in China, will formally launch on January 8 and will be completed in five years.