China's CRCC agrees railway, port projects in Russia

May 11, 2015 1:14 AM

SHANGHAI, May 11 (Reuters) - A China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC) unit has signed a memorandum of understanding to build rail and port projects in Russia, the firm said in a stock exchange statement on Monday.

The agreement was one of a series signed between China and Russia on the sidelines of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow to mark the anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe.

China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) said it had agreed with Russian firm Tuva Energy Industrial Corporation LLC (TEIC) to consult on and help source funds from Chinese institutions for projects including a 410 km (255 miles) track across the central southern part of Russia from Elegest to Kuragin.

The other projects comprise a railway line connecting the Tuvan Republic, in the same area of Russia, to western China, and a port project in eastern Russia.

CECC said the firms would sign a contract for general contracting once the projects obtained financing. It did not say what the deals were worth.

Last week, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said the countries would invest 1 trillion roubles ($19.7 billion) in a rail link between Moscow and the Russian city of Kazan to be completed by 2020. Putin said the level of Chinese investment would be around 300 billion roubles. (Reporting by Engen Tham and Brenda Goh; Editing by Paul Tait)