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| Outlook For Chinese Govt's Purchase Of 1.4M Tons Heavy Rails |
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China's Ministry of Railways is contemplating holding an international tender shortly to purchase a total of 1.4 million tons of heavy rails, according to information circulating in steel market sources. There are suggestions that the Chinese ministry may serve notice to conduct supply negotiations right after the lunar New Year holidays at the earliest. Japan's integrated steelmakers, though, are expected to watch how things go because there is a strong possibility that the Chinese government will favor supplies of heavy rails from domestic steel mills at the final stage. Heavy rails amounting to 1.4 million tons are sufficient to build 10,000 km of railroads, a round-trip distance in Japan from its northernmost main island of Hokkaido to its southernmost counterpart of Kyushu, experts point out. China's railroad construction plans have yet to become clear. As a result, it is totally unknown what amount of heavy rails will be allocated to which area. With a rapid development of the domestic economy in China, local expressway networks have opened for traffic one after another of late. But distribution of commodities by truck threatens to cause environmental pollution problems. As a result, China faces a pressing need to develop nationwide railroad networks amid continued distribution growth. |
| last modified : Thu 02 Feb, 2006 [10:41] |
