Mitsubishi Corporation has sub-contracted CAF for the design and supply of 246 diesel-electric multiple units (DEMUs) in the ‘framework of the contract’ the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar awarded to Mitsubishi Corporation.
The contract comprises of the supply of 11 six-carriage units for the ‘Yangon circular railway upgrading project’, and the supply of a further 30 six-car units for the ‘Yangon-Mandalay II railway upgrading project’.
The ‘value of the operation with CAF’ is worth more than 500 million euros and is being funded through an international loan agreed between the governments of Japan and Myanmar. This loan covers not only the supply of the trains but also the ‘comprehensive upgrading’ of the infrastructure on both lines, including signalling system modernisation, work on tracks and station improvements.
Both projects form part of the Myanmar government’s plans to upgrade the country’s infrastructure.
Over the past few years, the CAF Group has “solidified a close strategic relationship with Mitsubishi Corporation, involving a number of highly successful projects, some of which are already in operation”.
These include the supply of rolling stock for the Manila LRT Line 1 in the Philippines, the Istanbul Metro and building a transport system in Canberra, Australia.
The CAF Group operates in all five continents, and this new contract reinforces its standing in the Asian continent. Projects here include the supply of metro units for Hong Kong, trams for Kaohsiung in Taiwan, and metro units for New Delhi in India.