China Supplies Steel, Builds Railway in Venezuela

A 293-mile, US$7.5 billion railway project in Venezuela will be built using steel rails produced by China’s Panzhihua Steel, based in Sichuan Province. The steel producer has signed an exclusive contract to provide 50,000 metric tons of steel rails for China Railway Group, which is building the project.

The new rail system will carry trains traveling at speeds up to 137 miles per hour and link agricultural areas in the southwest to oil fields in the east. It will connect the four Venezuelan states of Cojedes, Guarico, Aragua and Anzoateguis.

The project will be completed in early 2013, according to Diosdado Cabello, Public Works Minister for Venezuela.