[2019-02-18] Chinese company BYD to build surface metro in Salvador, Brazil

Source: Macauhub

Chinese company BYD, which specialises in energy solutions, has signed a contract to build the Salvador metro railway system in the state of Bahia in northern Brazil.

The project will be the first of its kind in Latin America and will be part of the city’s public transport system.

SkyRail’s construction is expected to begin within six months and the system is expected to be operational by 2021.

The surface metro will have a network of 20 kilometres, and will be partially built over the sea to connect the commercial centre of Salvador to the island of São João.

With a capacity to handle 15,000 passengers a day, SkyRail will be connected to the public metro network, which is used by more than 2.9 million people.

Stella Li, vice president of BYD Co., Ltd. and president of BYD Motors Inc., said the company will provide a non-polluting, high-tech transportation system to Brazil’s third-largest city.

The work will be carried out, in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), by the BYD Brazil/Metrogreen consortium led by BYD.

The project was launched in 2016 and construction is estimated to cost US$749 million.

SkyRail will be similar to a transport system used in the city of Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of northern China.

BYD (Build Your Dream), based in Shenzhen, employs 240,000 people, has 30 industrial parks spread across six continents and has played a relevant role in the new energy sector and in public transport systems.