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30-634: The 845 km (525 mi), 1,520 mm ( 4 ft  11 + 27 ⁄ 32  in ) gauge network is electrified at 3 kV DC . Now the railways in Armenia are operated by South Caucasus Railway of Russian Railways . The railway operating environment in Armenia sharply deteriorated following the collapse of the Soviet Union . According to the World Bank , Armenian Railways

60-482: A concession agreement was awarded to Dubai-based Rasia FZE (a Rasia Group investment company) for the feasibility, design, financing, construction and operation of a new railway link between Armenia and Iran having an operating period of 30 years, with a right of extension for another 20 years. The Armenia-Iran railway is called the Southern Armenia Railway project, which forms the key missing link in

90-415: Is a Chinese majority state-owned , publicly traded, multinational engineering and construction company primarily engaged in the design, construction, and operation of infrastructure assets, including highways, skyways, bridges, tunnels, railways (especially high-speed rail ), subways, airports, oil platforms, and marine ports. CCCC has been a contractor for numerous Belt and Road Initiative projects. It

120-496: Is expected to increase to up to 30 million tons per annum. The company plans to promote cooperation with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine and other countries. Except with Georgia, all international railway links between Armenia and its neighbors have been closed since 1993 due to the blockade against the country by Turkey and Azerbaijan due to conflict in Nagorno Karabagh . South Caucasus Railway currently operates

150-625: Is included in the Fortune Global 500 list for 2016. CCCC's predecessors can be traced back to the Qing Dynasty , when the Junpu Engineering Bureau was established in 1905. The company was officially formed in 2005 by the merger of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which focus on transportation infrastructure and marine infrastructure, respectively. In 2006,

180-609: The South China Sea . The same month, the United States Department of Defense released the names of additional “Communist Chinese military companies” operating directly or indirectly in the United States. CCCC was included on the list. In November 2020, Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individuals from owning shares in companies, including CCCC, that

210-590: The Armenian National Security Council on grounds of regional security and it was recently declared a priority project. Arthur Baghdasaryan, Secretary of the Armenian National Security Council, added that the project for the construction of the railway to Iran, as well as the reopening of the railway to Abkhazia represent strategic elements of the Armenian Security Plan 2014–2017. South Caucasus Railway elaborated on

240-748: The Chinese embassy and naturally blacklisted the company.” An investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that, in 2009, CCCC paid US$ 19 million to Teodorin Obiang , Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, in relation to a contract for a highway. Teodorin Obiang settled the case, agreeing to forfeit over US$ 30 million worth of U.S. assets. CCCC has been implicated in schemes devised by ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak and advisor Low Taek Jho to bail out debts related to 1MDB . The Malaysian government agreed with CCCC to construct an East Coast Railway line for RM60 billion. Government documents revealed that

270-777: The International North-South Transport Corridor between the Black Sea and the Persian Gulf . Prior to the feasibility study being completed, the Southern Armenia Railway was anticipated to be a 316 km railway linking Gavar , 50 km east of Yerevan near Lake Sevan, with the Iranian border near Meghri . On 24 January 2013, during an announcement and press conference, the Chairman of Rasia Group, Joseph K. Borkowski, announced

300-1116: The U.S. Department of Defense has listed as having links to the People's Liberation Army . In December 2020, the United States Department of Commerce added CCCC itself to the Entity List. CCCC is a " blue chip " stock (part of the CSI 300 Index ). State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) holds 63.8% of the company's shares. Other shareholders include multiple affiliates of (or funds managed by) Merrill Lynch , BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase . The company operates through various subsidiaries, including CRBD and CHED, John Holland Group , an Australia-based construction company focused on infrastructure, Friede & Goldman, headquartered in Houston, which engineers offshore vessels for

330-716: The World Bank Group debarred CCCC and CRBC until 2017 for fraudulent practices under Phase 1 of the Philippines National Roads Improvement and Management Project. Together with five other companies, CCCC and CRBC had colluded to enter non-competitive, artificially high bid prices. In August 2020, the United States Department of Commerce placed several CCCC subsidiaries on the Bureau of Industry and Security 's Entity List for their construction work to militarize artificial islands in

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360-1111: The Zamanlinsky bridge, the Satanikamurj bridge, and the bridge on the Kober-Tumanian span. Infrastructure improvements over the past four years have now allowed for the increase of substantial traffic volumes. Expansion of the railway network of Armenia and increased mining activity in Armenia are creating new jobs, economic growth, and increases in traffic volume. During the calendar year 2013, South Caucasus Railway transported 3.2752 million tons of cargo and 415.4 thousand passengers. The cargo volumes comprised 0.456 million tons of exports, 1.2607 million tons of imports, and 1.5585 million tons of local traffic. This cargo comprised 1.3 million tons of non-ferrous ore, 0.455 million tons of grain, 0.2768 million tons of oil loads, 0.1335 million tons of building materials, and 0.1102 million tons of cement. According to preliminary data from Russian Railways, freight traffic at South Caucasus Railway

390-763: The company listed shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange , followed by a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2012. Since the mid-2000s, CCCC has been implicated in misconduct including fraud and corruption in Bangladesh, Equatorial Guinea, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Penalties included debarment by the World Bank and the Bangladesh government. In early 2018, CCCC subsidiary, China Harbour Engineering Company ,

420-402: The concession agreement, received assets owned by Armenian Railways consisting of 2,000 freight cars, 58 passenger coaches, 85 locomotives and 30 electric trains. All 4,300 personnel formerly employed by Armenian Railways retained their jobs. The concession agreement was concluded for 30 years, with a right of extension for another 20 years after the first 20 years of operation. On July 28, 2012,

450-705: The contract required CCCC to buy shares of companies related to Low, specifically, 70 per cent of Putrajaya Perdana Bhd for US$ 244 million (RM957 million) and 90 per cent of Loh & Loh for US$ 71 million (RM283 million). However, these allegations were denied by Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd, the owner of the railway project. Yet, in September 2019, during Najib's trial for corruption in relation to 1MDB, his previous assistant, Amhari Effendi Nazaruddin, testified that he traveled to Beijing China in June 2016 to discuss proposals for infrastructure projects that would help to pay off

480-536: The debts of 1MDB and its former unit, SRC International. The briefing points for the Beijing meeting stressed that "while simultaneously completely resolving 1MDB and SRC debts". Amhari testified to his unease about the Beijing mission, "I was worried about being involved directly in Najib and Low Taek Jho’s plan to cover up the loss of 1MDB funds and the repayment of International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) debts or

510-531: The development of the Armenian Railway. In mid-September 2013, Rasia FZE announced in a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan the achievement of a key milestone for the Southern Armenia Railway, including the release of a highly favorable feasibility study and the recommended railway design route from China Communications Construction Company. Having reached this key milestone, Rasia FZE moved to secure essential regional cooperation for

540-429: The financing, construction and operation stages of the project. The feasibility study results indicated that the Southern Armenia Railway would cost approximately US$ 3.5 billion to construct, have a length of 305 kilometers from Gagarin to Agarak, and provide a base operating capacity of 25 million tons per annum. The railway will have 84 bridges spanning 19.6 kilometers and 60 tunnels of 102.3 kilometers, comprising 40% of

570-678: The following services: Due to a lack of investment, Soviet-made rolling stock is still in use. This includes elektrichka type electric multiple units for suburban services. Rail gauge Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 210875450 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:57:58 GMT China Communications Construction China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. ( CCCC )

600-584: The future operation of the Southern Armenia Railway. Rasia FZE announced its appointment of China Communications Construction Company as the "lead member of the development consortium" for the project and the commencement of the feasibility study. Following a meeting on 3 September 2013 with Serzh Sargsyan , the President of Armenia, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation stated that Russian Railways can invest about RUB 15 billion in

630-413: The intention of awarding a concession in 2008. RITES and Russian Railways qualified to bid but RITES, an Indian Railways company, later withdrew. Russian Railways was the only bidder and established South Caucasus Railway CJSC as a wholly owned subsidiary to run the former Armenian Railways. On 1 June 2008, South Caucasus Railway officially commenced its modernization and operation program and, as part of

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660-656: The oil and gas industry, and Concremat Engenharia e Tecnologia S.A., an engineering and infrastructure consultancy based in Brasil. CCCC is a major contractor in the Belt and Road Initiative . CCCC is involved in dredging projects in disputed areas in the South China Sea , highway-building in Xinjiang , and building naval logistics installations at Gwadar Port . CCCC's subsidiary China Harbour Engineering Company

690-418: The only preexisting rail connection between Armenia and Iran is the line which passes through the autonomous region of Nakhchivan , an exclave of Azerbaijan . However, because the border between the two countries is closed, the line from Yerevan is operational only as far as Yeraskh . In 2007, the government of Armenia conducted a tender process for the modernization and operation of Armenian Railways, with

720-609: The preparation of political funds”. In March 2023, a court in Kuwait convicted Jho Low and others of money laundering. Trial documents revealed the flow of funds from CCCC through two Hong Kong subsidiaries, Multi Strategic Investment Limited and True Dragon Properties Limited, to Kuwait entities. The funds were proceeds of loans by the Export-Import Bank of China to finance the East Coast Railway. In 2009,

750-595: The previously signed Southern Armenia Railway concession agreement as well as the concession agreement for the southern section of the North-South Road Corridor. A separate tripartite memorandum of understanding was signed in Yerevan by Rasia FZE, Russian Railways ( RZD ) subsidiary South Caucasus Railway, and the government of the Republic of Armenia concerning technical cooperation, investment, and

780-517: The region are expected to improve substantially, fostering greater regional trade and economic growth with extraordinary direct benefits for the Armenian economy including an alleviation of the economic pressures caused by the illegal border blockade against Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan. On 24 October 2013, the Armenia-Iran railway was brought up for public discussion for the first time by

810-658: The total project length. As the key missing link in the International North-South Transport Corridor , the Southern Armenia Railway would create the shortest transportation route from the ports of the Black Sea to the ports of the Persian Gulf. The Southern Armenia Railway would establish a major commodities transit corridor between Europe and the Persian Gulf region, based on traffic volume forecasts of 18.3 million tons per annum. At completion of railway construction and commencement of operations, transport costs and times for

840-551: The work already completed in Armenia in support of a North-South Transport Corridor including, during the period between 2008 and 2012, an investment program exceeding US$ 225 million, which was allocated by Russian Railways. During this time, as a part of the infrastructure modernization program, more than 300 km of track, 160 technological objects, 33 artificial structures, 130 km of contact network, and 140 km of power lines were repaired. In 2012, three major railway bridges that were built in 1898 were commissioned including

870-501: Was debarred for attempted bribery of a senior government official in relation to a contract for the expansion of the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway. Finance Minister AMA Muhith said: “[The expansion of] Dhaka-Sylhet Highway, somehow, we had to drop it. Because, the party who got the contract, they came up, in the very beginning, with offer of bribe, open bribe. So, we gave the money, which they gave to some of our officials, back to

900-505: Was in dramatic need of major investment, including the replacement of rolling stock , rehabilitation of the main line between Yerevan and the Georgian border, renewal of electrification, and bridge reconstruction. Rail transport was slow and unreliable, and traffic remained low compared to European countries with similar sized networks, amounting to only 2.6 million tons of freight and 0.85 million passengers in 2004. At present

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