China Railway Construction Corporation has announced that a consortium comprising the company and several subsidiaries and Qingdao Urban Construction Group has won the public-private partnership contract to build Qingdao metro Line 4.

The metro line will have a total length of 26 km, with 24 stations connecting People' s Hall with Dahedong.The concession period of the project is 25 years, including a five-year construction period. It is expected that the construction will be finalized for commencement of operation in December 2020.

The total estimated investment of the project amounts to CNY22.9 billion (US$3.3 billion).

Qingdao Metro Group will raise debt financing to cover 65% of the required capital investment. Of the remaining 35%, Qingdao Metro Group will provide the government’s 30%, CRCC as construction investor will raise 35% and investment funds will provide the other 35%.

Qingdao, the largest city in Shandong province, is a port city with a population of 9 million inhabitants. Qingdao is planned to operate 11 lines by 2020, with line 3 in operation currently, which connects the North Railway Station and Shuangshan.

In November, we reported that other consortium led by China Railway Construction Corp won a PPP contract to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain a railway track for the new Beiing airport. The total project investment stands at about CNY15 billion (US$2.2 billion).