Santiago, March 19 (IANS/EFE) The Santiago Metro may sell a global bond to raise between $500-600 million for construction of two additional lines, the president of the state-run company that manages the mass-transit system said.
If that financing option is chosen, it would be the first time the Metro will have sought funding from international debt markets, Metro S.A. CEO Fernando Canas said in an interview published Sunday by La Tercera daily.
“Never before has the Metro issued an international bond. We’ve always issued local bonds, which have always been very well received in the market,” he said.
Construction of the new lines, which will stretch for 37.3 km and include 28 stations, has already begun and will have a total investment cost of nearly $2.8 billion, most of which will be covered by the Chilean government.
The Santiago Metro currently has some 100 km of track and transports roughly 2 million passengers daily.
The company gets roughly 85 percent of its revenue from ticket sales and therefore is looking to increase revenue from other sources – such as the leasing of commercial space – by between 15-20 percent, Canas said.
–IANS/EFE
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