CCOEC won the bid against companies from other countries, with its predominance in quality, price, reputation as well as delivery. On August 18, 2011, CCOEC concluded supply contract on Estonian railway shunting locomotives with ERV Cargo in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The contract was signed by CCOEC president Ma Zhiwu and EVR Cargo board member Oskar Kalmus. According to the contract, China will provide 16 shunting locomotives to Estonia.

 

Railway locomotives are the power sources for the operation of passenger and cargo trains. Locomotive tractive power determines the capacity and speed of trains. Therefore, countries especially

European and American countries have set very strict criteria for importing locomotives. CCOEC started to trace the Estonia locomotive project since Sept, 2010. Within half of a year, the Corporation completed a lot of preparation work including receiving Estonian project owners, signing technique agreement, visiting Estonia for on-the-spot investigation, determining technical scheme, etc. Through international public bidding, CCOEC eventually won against the other 3 bidders from EU, with its most competitive scheme of price, modern design, extraordinary motor power, etc.

 

The Estonia shunting locomotive project is another symbolic project of CCOEC, which is a breakthrough in China-made railway locomotive entering the EU market for the first time, as well as a start of the Corporation as a bid winner in EU projects. CCOEC will proactively work with manufacture to guarantee the smooth implementation of the project, and take this as an opportunity to further explore the market in Estonia and its bordering countries, for greater breakthroughs.

 

Since the conclusion of the contract, the project has been covered in highlight reports by Chinese media including CCTV -4 news program, xinhuanet, official website of Ministry of Commerce, as well as mainstream media in Estonia.