China: Belt & Road brings growth to metro operator

Shenzhen Metro Group has emerged over recent years as an increasingly active player in the development of metro, light rail and suburban projects across a swathe of emerging markets, from Algeria to Vietnam, as Benjámin Zelki explains. Embracing the expansionist ideals of China’s Belt & Road initiative, Shenzhen Metro Group Co and its partners in the Chinese urban rail supply chain are becoming increasingly active in the delivery of urban rail projects globally.

Owned by the Shenzhen municipality, Shenzhen Metro Group was established in 1998. The group embarked on its first international projects in 2014, when it stated that its aim was for Shenzhen’s metro standards to be exported to more cities around the world.

To date, SZMC has been involved in seven projects in six countries covering a total length of no less than 208.4 km. Examples of its work can be found in cities including Addis Ababa, Abuja, two projects in Hanoi, Tel Aviv, Cairo and the nearby New Administrative Capital, and Alger.

Its most recent contract was announced in December 2025, and it covers the commissioning of Hanoi’s 39.6 km long, fully automated metro Line 5, where civil works started in July.

This story was originally published by Railway Gazette. Read the full story at Railway Gazette →