Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The feasibility study and paperwork of the Cable Car Project are moving forward since this April even though there has been a delay in receiving specialists from France due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar.

A financial agreement of 60,7 million euros was signed on May 12, 2020, between Minister of Finance of Mongolia Ch. Khurelbaatar, and Ambassador of France to Mongolia M. Philippe Merlin. This agreement aims at financing the introduction of a new mode of urban transportation in the City of Ulaanbaatar, through the construction of two lines using the cable car technology.

This project, jointly implemented by the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar and the French companies POMA and EGIS, consists in the construction of two lines of cable car. The construction of a first 5,8 kilometres long line, linking ‘Bayankhoshuu-Khanyn material’  to the ‘Terminus of neighbourhoods 3 and 4’, will be initiated in 2020. A second line will be constructed later on in the North-East of the City, after the completion of a separate feasibility study jointly conducted by the Municipality and the French contractors.

This project will be financed through a French Treasury soft loan, granted by France to Mongolia, which includes a grant component of 30%. The cable car technology for urban transportation, able to transport up to 2000 persons per hour per direction, will provide inhabitants of those areas (“Ger districts”) with a much improved access to the city centre, to jobs and public services, while contributing to the reduction of road traffic.

Through this project, France commits to the implementation of a sustainable, social and inclusive urban policy conducted by the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar, contributing to the country’s efforts to reduce air pollution by developing a zero-emission urban transportation network.

POMA was founded in 1936 and is one of the leading companies in the manufacturing of cable-driven transportation systems, whether for urban transportation of tourism purposes. The company has already installed more than 8000 devices worldwide. Cable car technology provided by POMA, as a means for public transportation, is already used in various cities in Russia, Asia, the United States, North Africa and Europe. This robust system has already been installed and is currently in use in environments where the weather conditions are similar to those in Mongolia. For instance, an urban cable car transportation system has been functioning in Nijni-Novgorod, Russia, since 2012 and other projects are developing in the capital, Moscow. Urban cable car systems are a well-proven solution to the needs of developing cleaner and greener transportation systems for passengers in congested cities.