Photo: Courtesy of CRCC

China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and the Ministry of Transport of Argentina on Friday signed a contract worth $2.6 billion to improve General San Martin Cargo Railway, the largest railway project signed by a Chinese company in Latin America. The project is expected to provide impetus for economic recovery for Argentina in the post-pandemic era.

The Argentine government on Friday signed four railway cooperation contracts with three Chinese companies to a total worth of nearly $4.7 billion, which will create 28,000 jobs, benefiting 13 provinces around the country, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

The CRCC's reactivation of General San Martin Cargo Railway project is the longest and largest railway engineering contracting project signed by a Chinese company in Argentina. It will also become the first Argentine railway project with integrated use of Chinese solutions, technology and equipment. 

The railway consists of one main line and three branch lines with a total length of 1,813 kilometers. It crosses the five most dynamic central provinces and will be the only main railway line connecting the country's eastern port with its western agricultural areas. The route runs across the major grain-minerals-export provinces, connecting the central regions with key ports.

After its completion, the rail speed will increase from the current 40 kilometers per hour up to 90 kph, and the annual rail freight capacity will largely increase from 3 to 9 million tons. 

This project is the key priority among other projects of a railway reactivation plan launched by the Argentine government to upgrade its national railway system. The Argentine government attaches great importance to the role of railway in national production and economic development. Although Argentina boosts the world's granaries, its long transport distance and high cost restrict the competitiveness of its agricultural products in the international market.

The benefits of the renovation of this east-west cargo outbound railway artery include increasing the combined delivery capacity of General San Martin Railway with ports, roads and other transport methods, reducing the transportation cost of agricultural products, minerals and other bulk commodities along the line, promoting international competitiveness of local products, creating more job opportunities, and boosting economic recovery for the central regions and the nation in the post-pandemic era.