Korea Leads Race for Brazil’s R$34bn Rail Deal

11 March 2010 (Last Updated March 11th, 2010 18:30)

A South Korean consortium eyeing Brazil's R$34.6bn (US$19.3bn) bullet train deal may have a better understanding of the project's needs than other international bidders, Brasilia's National Land Transport Agency head Bernardo Figueiredo said. "Korea went through a process similar to Bra

A South Korean consortium eyeing Brazil’s R$34.6bn (US$19.3bn) bullet train deal may have a better understanding of the project’s needs than other international bidders, Brasilia’s National Land Transport Agency head Bernardo Figueiredo said.

“Korea went through a process similar to Brazil,” Figueiredo said, according to news service Bloomberg.

The project involves building a 350kmph 511km railway linking Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Campinas, scheduled to be finished ahead of the World Cup football tournament in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.

The winning group will build and operate the system as well as sharing technology with Brazilian companies.

Official bidding is due to begin in May with France’s Alstom, Germany’s Siemens, Japan’s Hitachi, Spain’s Patentes Talgo and a Chinese consortium all expressing interest.

The South Korean consortium includes Hyundai Rotem, Korea Railway Network Authority, Korail and Hyundai Heavy Industries.