Homegrown transport giant ComfortDelGro (CDG), through a joint venture with Paris-headquartered RATP Dev, has won the contract to operate and maintain Denmark's Copenhagen Metro.

Announcing this on Monday (Aug 31),CDG said the consortium, KBH Metro Partner, was selected following a competitive international tender.

The contract covers the operation and maintenance of the fully automated 43km network, and will run for 12 years until 2039, with an option for a three-year extension, CDG added.

It is valued at about DKK 17 billion (S$3.4 billion), with contract signing expected in September, following completion of the statutory standstill period.

Copenhagen Metro is a light rapid transit system in Denmark's capital with four lines and 44 stations, including 30 underground. 

Last year, the system carried a record 135 million passengers, and is one of three rapid transit systems worldwide — alongwith New York City Subway and Chicago "L" — to operate 24/7 throughout their respective city limits.

CDG managing director and group chief executive officer Cheng Siak Kian said the selection demonstrates how the group's rail expertise in Singapore, through its subsidiary SBS Transit, can be scaled into a repeatable model for international markets.

The group's chairman, Mark Greaves, highlighted that growing CDG's public transport portfolio remains "a core strategy", adding that its Scandinavia presence builds a more diversified and resilient business.

In Singapore, CDG's SBS Transit operates the North-East Line, Downtown Line and the fully-automated Sengkang-Punggol LRT. 

Outside the country, it also operates Auckland One Rail in New Zealand, in addition to Stockholm Metro.

Once the new Copenhagen Metro contract comes into effect, CDG's rail network in operation and under mobilisation will exceed 420km, the group said.

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editor@asiaone.com