A Japanese consortium led by Marubeni Corp. signed a contract Thursday in Taiwan to build a railway system linking its capital and Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, the trading house said.
The contract, sealed with Taiwan's Bureau of High Speed Rail, is worth about 91 billion yen, Marubeni said, adding it will be the first direct-link airport railway system to be constructed by Japanese companies in Asia outside Japan.
The trading house, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd. will build a 51.5-km route connecting central Taipei and Chungli through the airport. The route is scheduled to be completed in September 2013.
Marubeni said it will be responsible for overall management of the project and construction of railway facilities, including signals, communication systems and rail yards. Kawasaki Heavy will provide 123 train cars, while Hitachi will be in charge of setting up power supply facilities.