The China Construction Bank (CCB), one of the country's five largest state owned banks, is planning to invest 10 billion yuan (US$1.34 billion) in the high-speed railway from Beijing to Shanghai, an anonymous high official in the bank told Caijing Magazine.

The bank has been conducting talks with the project undertaker since the beginning of this year and CCB's overseas branches will not be involved in the investment, according to the anonymous official. The CCB has submitted its agenda to the State Council for approval, the Caijing magazine reported.

The high-speed railway, expected to go into operation by 2010, will draw an investment reaching 200 billion yuan. The municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai along the railway may be three of the biggest project shareholders, said Wang Xin, former deputy director from the investment research office of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Trains will operate at speeds of 300 to 350 kilometers per hour on the high-speed railway. Beijing to Shanghai trips will take five hours, nine hours faster than the current travel time.

The high-speed railway, co-conducted by Tianjin headquartered No. 3 Railway Survey and Design Institute and No. 4 Railway Survey and Design Institute in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, connects Hebei Province, Shandong Province, Anhui Province and Jiangsu Province, with a total length of 1,318 kilometers. The line will have 21 passenger railway stations. The NDRC approved the project proposal in September.

(China.og.cn by Wu Jin October 29, 2007)