BYD Launches Monorail Transport System
October 14 2016 - 1:30AM
Dow Jones News
SHANGHAI—Chinese car and battery maker BYD Co. launched a
monorail transport system Thursday, as it looks into China's
multibillion-dollar mass transit market.
BYD, which is about 8% owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire
Hathaway Inc., said in a statement that it has spent five billion
yuan, or $750 million, on research and development for the monorail
program over the past five years.
The monorail will be put into operation at its headquarters in
Shenzhen, running for a distance of 4.4 kilometers, a spokeswoman
for the company said Friday. Cars on the monorail system are
capable of running at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour
(50mph).
BYD has won an order for 250-kilometer monorail system from the
nearby city of Shantou, the spokeswoman said. Another 20 cities on
the mainland are in talks with the company over potential
purchases, she said.
China's transport ministry said in May that the country will
invest around 4.7 trillion yuan in transport infrastructure
projects over the next three years.
As cities grow and congestion increases, Beijing is calling for
companies to intensify their efforts in developing new rail
technology. BYD said building a monorail system requires only a
fifth of the capital expenditure of a metro line and a third of the
construction time.
The transport ministry said earlier this year that the total
length of China's light rail transit system will be increased from
the current 3,300 kilometers to about 6,000 kilometers by 2020.
--Rose Yu
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 14, 2016 01:15 ET (05:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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