Myanmar will soon receive 20 train engines manufactured in Dalian, China, of the type pictured here.

TWENTY new diesel train engines manufactured in the Chinese port city of Dalian and purchased by the Ministry of Rail Transportation will arrive in Yangon by the end of this year, said an official from Yunnan Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Company Limited, which is importing the trains.

Mr Chen Wei, the chief representative of the company’s Yangon office, said eight engines will arrive in Yangon at the end of next month and the remaining 12 will arrive in December.

The company is importing the 2000-horsepower engines at a total value of US$24 million under a contract it signed with ministry in May 2007.

“Our company has had a branch office in Yangon since 1990 and we’ve already imported 35 railway engines and railway tracks since 1992, as well as equipment for hydropower stations and container wharves,” said Mr Chen.

Major Aung Kyaw Myint, the general manager of the information department of Myanma Railways under the ministry, said Myanmar uses diesel engines imported from Japan, France, China and India.

He said that since 1990 the ministry has bought 35 engines from China and 41 from India. The latest batch of 15 engines from India arrived in Yangon in March.

Maj Aung Kyaw Myint said the ministry is also producing its own train engines on a trial basis.

“We’ve produced two 300-horsepower engines at the Ywar Htaung factory in Sagaing Division and two 1200-horsepower engines at the Insein factory in Yangon,” he said.

The 300hp engines were put into service in Sagaing Division in April 2007, while the 1200hp engines have been in use in Yangon Division since January.