A Japanese consortium beat its European rival to secure a contract to supply train carriages and locomotives for Taiwan's first high-speed railway system, the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC,
"The Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium (TSC, 臺灣新幹線企業聯合) and the Eurotrain both satisfy the needs of the THSRC," THSRC President George Liu said. "How-ever, the board decided that the TSC be the priority bidder based on its technology, price, finance and maintenance merits."
The THSRC refused to reveal how much the deal was worth, but a transport ministry official confirmed that the NT$95 billion (US$3 billion) core contract would be granted to the consor-tium led by Mitsui & Co (
"We expect to sign the final contract by the end of January," said Liu. "Otherwise, we will turn to the rival Eurotrain consortium for negotiations."
The TSC confirmed that it would begin negotiations early next year to finalize the exact cost of the project, including export credits, loans, TSC's expected equity investment and the transfer of technology.
According to Liu, Eurotrain uses euros when calculating its costs while the Japanese use yen. Therefore, "the prospects for exchange rate fluctuations in the yen and euro were also a consideration."
He also pointed out that Japan's winning proposal is different from the one proposed by the consortium in 1997.
"Before, the model [of engines and carriages] was the HOPE 500," said Liu. "Now it is the HOPE 710."
The announcement came as a surprise to the Eurotrain consortium, which had been in partnership with the THSRC for more than two years, dating back to the time of it winning the original bid in 1997.
"We are very disappointed," said Ambroise Cariou (
However, Cariou added, "We respect that decision, and we will wait. If they fail to reach a consensus [with the Japanese], we are prepared to talk to THSRC again."
Later, however Cariou's company announced in Paris that it would look into the legal consequences of the decision.
"Eurotrain will take all necessary actions to protect its inter-ests," it said. An Alstom spokewoman told Reuters that the matter was now in the hands of legal experts who were looking into the consequences of the decision but that it was premature to say more.
Asked if this meant that Eurotrain would seek financial compensations, she said "everything is open."
"Eurotrain takes note of this information and remains convinced that its offer is the premium solution for the Republic of Tai-wan," the statement also said.
Agencies quoted local media yesterday as reporting that the Taiwan government had pushed for the Japanese consortium to be selected in order to pave the way for President Lee Teng-hui (
Eurotrain officials would not comment on such rumors yesterday, saying only that they were worried about the safety of the Japanese project.
"The width of the path for the train tracks should be 90 square meters [ie, the size of the area that must be cut to make a tunnel]," Cariou said. "What the Japanese team is proposing now is only 64 square meters. This was convenient in the 1960s, when the trains traveled at 220km/h. Now, the speed is 300km/h."
Ironically, the Shinkansen system used in Japan is based on a 90 square meter track area. And the contract, if it goes all the way through, would mark the first time the Shinkansen system has been exported. The two groups are also vying for a similar contract in China, for a train system linking Beijing and Shanghai.
It has been a tension-packed year for both groups. The THSRC started evaluation work on the line's core electrical and machinery system operations as early as December last year.
Eurotrain had tried previously to sweeten its bid, offering to throw in significant financing and even take an equity stake in the NT$446.4 billion (US$14.2 billion) project. But momentum had been gradually shifting toward the Japanese, as competing groups of Taiwanese financiers put forward proposals that specified a preference for a particular system.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS