Beijing Municipal Government, Beijing MTR Corporation Limited (Beijing MTR) and the three shareholders of Beijing MTR have signed the concession agreement for Beijing Metro Line 16.

Line 16 is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project and Beijing MTR would participate in the investment, operations and maintenance of the new line. Beijing MTR is a joint venture (JV) comprising MTR Corporation Limited (49%), Beijing Capital Group Limited (49%) and Beijing Infrastructure Investment Corporation Limited (2%).

The 50-kilometre Line 16 will include 29 stations and open in two phases. Phase 1 is targeted to open by the end of 2016 while full line operations are expected to commence after 2017.

The Line 16 project has a total capital cost of about RMB¥47.4 billion (US$7.4 billion). The project is divided into:

• Part A involves the line's civil construction and the work is being undertaken by Beijing Infrastructure Investment Corporation Limited.
• Part B covers electrical and mechanical systems as well as rolling stock. It takes up about 30% or approximately RMB¥14.2 billion (US$2.22 billion) of the project's capital cost.

Under the PPP arrangement, Beijing MTR would be responsible for the part B. The JV will undertake the operations and maintenance of Line 16 for a term of 30 years. 

MTR CEO Lincoln Leong stated:

"Currently, there are 18 metro lines operating in the capital city with a total route length of 527km. As a shareholder of Beijing MTR, we are most honoured to have the opportunity to extend the safe, reliable and convenient metro service that we currently provide on Line 4, Daxing Line and Line 14, to even more commuters through this fourth metro project of Beijing MTR."

Beijing MTR general manager Richard Wong commented:

"Beijing Metro Line 16 will run through three major districts and connect to the city's metro network through 12 interchange stations, making passenger journeys faster and easier while enhancing the overall convenience of Beijing's metro system, which is used by ten million passengers a day."