The Russian delegation was headed by Alexander Misharin, the First Vice-President of Russian Railways, and Alexei Tsydenov, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation. Hu Tszutsay, the Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Development and Reform, and Huang Ming, the Deputy Director General of China Railways, headed the Chinese delegation.
The participants in the session reviewed the key issues concerning the design of the Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan High Speed Main Line with respect to the project's main principle, which is to find the optimal technical solution while minimising the necessary construction costs.
The solutions discussed included the development of centralisation and blocking devices, strengthening the roadbed, designing non-standard bridges and track superstructure and the arrangement of production bases at railway stations. The experts paid special attention to railway automation and remote control systems, signalling and communication systems and train management for the Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan High Speed Main Line.
The Russian and Chinese experts also agreed to close co-operation when the project documentation undergoes its expert evaluation and noted the need to accelerate the pace of implementing the design work.
The two parties confirmed in a protocol that the construction of the Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan High Speed Main Line will be achieved by a public-private partnership (PPP model) in the form of a concession in accordance with the legislation governing concessions in the Russian Federation.
It is expected that within the framework of the project, a special project company (SPC) will be set up as the concessionaire. Its task will be to conclude and execute the concession agreement on the construction of the Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan High Speed Main Line. The project will be implemented by attracting investments in the form of equity and debt financing.
According to the agreement, the Chinese side will provide equity financing for the project on the Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod stretch amounting to the equivalent of RUB 52 billion roubles in US dollars, as well as an additional amount of US 1 billion for the Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan stretch. In addition, the Chinese will provide debt financing equivalent to 250 billion roubles for the Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod stretch and the equivalent of 150 billion roubles for the Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan stretch.
The parties also discussed the possibility of financing the project in US dollars and yuan.
Key provisions of the draft will be reflected in the agreement between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, which is expected to be signed in 2016.
Source: http://www.hsrail.ru/
