Electrowatt Infra AG, which is part of the Jaakko Pöyry Group's Infrastructure & Environment business group, has been awarded an extension of the Taiwan high-speed railway project by Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC). The assignment is a continuation to the two previous contracts, continuing until 2005 when the high- speed railway will be opened for traffic. The value of the contract is about EUR 7 million.
Electrowatt Infra will continue as Independent Checking Engineer/Independent Site Engineer (ICE/ISE), in the capacity of joint owner of International Railway Engineering Group (IREG) since 1999. IREG is a joint venture between Electrowatt Infra of Switzerland, the UK consultant Mott MacDonald, DE-Consult of Germany and the French consultant SYSTRA. The total contract value for the extension is EUR 32.5 million.
The project comprises a new high-speed rail link between Taipei and Kaohsiung. The link is 345 km long, including altogether 300 km of viaducts and tunnels. The design speed is set at 350 km/h in order to achieve a journey time of 90 min. This EUR 15.4 billion project is currently one of the most challenging BOT transport projects in the world. The owner, THSRC, is a joint venture of major Taiwanese industrial and financial companies.
The Jaakko Pöyry Group's Infrastructure & Environment business group uses the brand name Jaakko Pöyry Infra. Its net sales for 2002 were EUR 123 million. The business group has offices in 12 countries and it employs 1350 experts worldwide.
JAAKKO PÖYRY GROUP OYJ
Erkki Pehu-Lehtonen
President and CEO
Teuvo Salminen
Deputy to President and CEO