Chinese investors urged to bid for Britain’s high-speed rail link
British finance minister George Osborne has urged Chinese investors to bid for $18 billion high-speed rail link project in the country.
Speaking at the end of his five-day trip to China, Osborne said procurement process for bridges, tunnels and earthworks for the project has already begun.
The UK parliament is yet to approve the High Speed Two (HS2) project but the eventual plan would link cities between the capital London and Birmingham. "Launching HS2 is key to supporting long-term economic growth across the north and Midlands”, Osborne said while opening the bidding process in the city of Chengdu on Thursday.
"We are truly entering a golden era of co-operation between our two countries, and it's crucial that businesses and communities from across the UK feel the full benefit of forging closer economic links with China," he added.
Actual construction work on the projects is expected to begin in two years. Officials say the completion of the HS2 project will help minimize the travel time between London and Birmingham from one hour 20 minutes to 50 minutes.
Boosting trade ties between were high on the agenda of Osborn’s week-long trip to the world’s second largest economy. On the sidelines of the seventh China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue on Tuesday, Osborne held talks with top Chinese officials including Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
Earlier, Osborne announced a feasibility study into linking the London and Shanghai stock exchanges as well as discussions of the possibility of the Chinese central bank issuing government bonds denominated in yuan in London.The British chancellor also invited bids for $32 billion of investment in Northern Powerhouse scheme.
Osborn trip, however, could not evade criticism from campaigners who say the finance minister focused on investment over human rights while vising Xinjiang, homeland of China's Muslim Uighur minority which has been the site of unrest in recent years.
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