PB lands Chinese contract.

Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) has been awarded a contract to provide program and construction management services for Line No. 3 of the Shenzhen Metro in Shenzhen, China.

The Shenzhen Metro No. 3 Line Investment Company Ltd. began work in mid 2004 on this extension of the popular new high-performance mass transit line.

The city of Shenzhen, situated across the border from Hong Kong, has been transformed over the last 20 years from a tiny fishing village with 350,000 people to a modern city with a population of approximately five million. The Shenzhen Metro is intended to lessen traffic congestion and further the economic growth of the city.

Construction on the No. 3 Line is scheduled to begin in late 2005. The segment will extend 33 kilometers (20 miles) and will include a subway with a total length of 7 kilometers (4 miles) and six stations along with a mix of light rail and elevated rail with a total length of 26 kilometers (16 miles) and 13 stations above ground. The project is expected to be completed by 2009.

As the program/construction management consultant, PB is responsible for setting up the program management strategy, policy and procedures for the client and assisting the client in implementing them. PB will also oversee the work of the design consultant, the construction supervision consultant for the civil design-build contracts, and the system procurement and supervision consultant.

Phase 1 of the Shenzhen Metro included lines 1 and 4, encompassing 21 kilometers (13 miles) of subway track with 20 stations, and opened in December 2004, linking to the Kowloon-Canton Railway station at Louhu. On New Year's Day 2005, more than 260,000 passengers used the system, greatly exceeding original patronage forecasts.