China's leading railway contractor has won the bids to build two major railways in Libya, which together are worth about 3.2 billion dinars (US$2.6 billion), according to the company.

The two contracts won by the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) are a west-to-east coastal railway from Khums to Sirt and a south-to-west railway that would facilitate iron ore transportation from southern city Sebha to Misurata as well as passenger transportation along the line.

Construction of the 352-km-long coastal railway and the 800-km-long south-to-north railway has been initially set to begin in June this year. The coastal railway will take four years to complete, while the south-to-north railway will take three years.

The CRCC won 89.5 billion yuan (US$12.4 billion) worth of overseas construction contracts in the first 11 months of 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2008)