Bombardier plans to bid for 30 rail projects

Bombardier Inc, a multinational aerospace and transportation company based in Montreal, Canada, said it plans to increase the capacity of its signaling and propulsion plants in China to cash in on rising demand for transit projects in the country.

This year, the company said it plans to bid for more than 30 rail transportation projects in China, including high-speed trains, propulsion and signaling equipment for rail vehicles, monorails, and automated people mover systems.

"Last year, the Bombardier rail business in China won about 30 new projects, and the total contract value exceeded 12.5 billion yuan ($1.95 billion). It has been one of our most successful business operations," said Zhang Jianwei, president and chief country representative of Bombardier China.

This year, Bombardier NUG Signaling Solutions Co Ltd, a joint venture between Bombardier and China's New United Group, which focuses on design, manufacture and sales of signaling systems, integrated supervision and control systems for the Chinese mass transit and light rail markets, plans to increase its capacity and hire about 100 new employees.

Meanwhile, Bombardier NUG Propulsion System Co Ltd, a joint venture that produces and maintains propulsion equipment for rail vehicles, will also increase its capacity and hire about 100 new employees. Propulsion equipment from Bombardier has been used in metro cars in 24 Chinese cities and has the leading market share in the segment in China.

Bombardier recently won bids for providing APM systems for Shenzhen and Hong Kong airports. By then, it will provide such services for China's largest urban centers, including the above mentioned two cities, as well as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

In addition, Bombardier has made an effort to grab business opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative. Last year, it won the bid of supplying monorail systems to Bangkok, Thailand. The monorail vehicles will be manufactured by its Chinese joint venture and completed by 2020.

"With more Chinese enterprises continuing to spread their business worldwide, Bombardier will complement Chinese enterprises and together make more achievements in the global market. We plan to seek more opportunities involved in the Belt and Road Initiative together with CRRC," Zhang said.

Zhang said he is bullish on the growth potential of the business jet market in China. Currently, Bombardier has over 150 business aircraft in service in China, accounting for one third of China's overall business jet fleet.