The Irish Times published an article: "Why not let China build our railways?"
2024-08-19
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An article published in The Irish Times on August 17, titled: We import electronics and cars from China, so why not let them build our railways?One evening in Croatia, I chatted with a young man from Serbia. As we got to know each other, he excitedly told me that the new high-speed trains connecting Serbian cities had greatly reduced journey times, allowing a whole generation of Serbs to switch from cars to cost-saving public transportation. The annual per capita income in Serbia is about 10,000 euros, while the annual per capita income in Ireland is about 55,000 euros. We are more than five times richer than the Serbs, but we cannot afford to build a railway network.
How did Serbia build hundreds of kilometers of high-speed rail with speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour? Because they outsourced it to China. China built new railways for Serbia, which will eventually connect the Greek port of Thessaloniki with the Hungarian capital of Budapest, Serbia, and Central Europe. The railway lines in Serbia were built and put into operation within just a few years of starting construction, which is even more amazing considering the pandemic in the meantime. These railways are also among the cheapest to build in the world.
The Irish Department of Transport published the final draft of the "All-Island Strategic Railway Review" at the end of July, providing the country with a shiny vision for the development of its railway network, aiming to "significantly revitalize and significantly expand the system by 2050." Consider the timeline: 2050. That's more than 20 years from now. The estimated cost is 37 billion euros. The Serbs spent just over 2 billion euros to build their railway network, which not only connects their major cities of Belgrade, Novi Sad and Subotica, but also leads to Budapest, the capital of Hungary.
Obviously there are differences in the scope of the two rail projects, but the Serbian experience begs the question: why don’t we let China build Ireland’s train system? We buy everything else from China – cars, electronics, pretty much everything we use every day – so why not trains? If China wants their workers to build the rail, why not?
Given that the key to public procurement should be to provide citizens with the best value for money and deliver projects on time, shouldn’t we consider the options? We are told that not only Serbia, but also two EU countries, Hungary and Greece, have approached China, so the use of non-EU technology and expertise is not without precedent.
The biggest political barrier to Ireland doing business with China is the US, and more specifically, the impact on Ireland’s image in Washington. Dublin may be thinking about the risk that Chinese trains will deter American money from Ireland. That concern is not without merit. But if we don’t use Chinese technology and expertise to quickly solve our infrastructure problems, Americans may also stay away from inflationary and costly Ireland because it cannot provide their first-rate workforce with first-rate transport infrastructure. This is a trade-off worth weighing carefully.
For Ireland, it’s a win-win: Taxes paid by American businesses operating in Ireland pay for infrastructure built by China in Ireland, which will benefit Irish citizens for decades. This might be called a “smart, edgy cunning”, but it’s more aptly called “better decision-making by a small, non-aligned trading nation”. It’s worth considering, because excluding strategic trade with China is like excluding trade with the United States in 1890 simply for fear of offending Britain.
The Irish government has a poor record of delivering large infrastructure projects, and the provision of these facilities may be considered a basic capability, essential to meet the needs of a growing population. Although it is difficult to admit, it is time to hand the keys to mature providers to complete the projects on time and beyond. (Author David McWilliams, translated by Wang Huicong)
