Ruentex secures Songshan Railway Station project bid

Shares of Ruentex Development Co (潤泰創新) strengthened yesterday, after the construction company won a NT$3.3 billion (US$100.5 million) build-operate-transfer (BOT) project to revamp the Songshan Railway Station on Wednesday.

Shares of Ruentex advanced by 1.18 percent to close at NT$25.8 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.

The project includes a station complex and a multifunction building required by the Taiwan Railway Administration.

Ruentex plans to include in the complex a business hotel, in collaboration with Ambassador Hotel Ltd (國賓飯店), office space, a theme park, a food court and an art gallery, said Liu Chung-hsien (劉忠賢), the chief executive officer of Ruentex.

Prior to the Songshan station project, Ruentex also won the BOT project to revamp Nankang Railway Station at the end of last year.

The company hopes to add more value to the land it is developing by turning the stations into tourism and business centers, instead of just transportation hubs, Liu said.

Ruentex is expected to start construction after the administration completes the underground rail project at the station, due by the end of 2010. The company has the right to operate the business facilities for 50 years after construction is complete.

Ruentex outbid Radium Life Tech Co (日勝生活科技), Durban Group (德安開發) and Huafu Development Co (樺福建設) to win the project.

The administration is expected to pocket more than NT$3 billion from the project, including a NT$120 million royalty for development of the land, a NT$1.2 billion royalty for operating the complexes for 50 years and a rent of NT$20 million to NT$30 million per year.

In addition to the BOT projects, Ruentex is also teaming up with Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation's largest telecom operator, to develop currently idle land in Taipei.

The two signed an agreement on Wednesday to jointly construct luxury apartment buildings on a 2,332-ping (7,695.6m2) site in Wanhua District in Taipei.