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HITACHI WINS CONTRACT TO DEVELOP “SENTOSA EXPRESS
FOR SENTOSA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
 
“Sentosa Express”

SINGAPORE, 21 June 2002 - Hitachi Asia Ltd. (Hitachi Asia), a wholly-owned subsidiary and regional Asian headquarters of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE:6501), today announced that it has secured a S$78 million (J¥5.4 billion) contract from Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) to build a new monorail system, "Sentosa Express", to Sentosa Island.

The Sentosa Express will be built using the Hitachi straddle-type small monorail system and will improve access to Sentosa Island from the southernmost tip of Singapore. The planned route for the air-conditioned small monorail system will include a 2.1 km long double track which will link the main island of Singapore and Sentosa, with gateway stations at World Trade Centre's HarbourFront MRT Station and Central Beach on Sentosa. The monorail route is expected to have four stations. These stations will be located strategically near popular tourist spots such as the Merlion tower, Museum, Amusement parks and Central Beach. Construction on the monorail is expected to begin in January 2003 and estimated project completion date is end of 2005.

The straddle-type small monorail system was originally developed by Hitachi in Japan as a small, standard and cost-effective solution to the transportation needs of small to medium-sized cities. Capable of negotiating small and sharp curves, this technology is based on existing larger monorail systems technology such as the Tokyo Monorail system which is currently operating from Haneda Airport to Hamamatsu-cho.

Highlight features of the small-type monorail system are the reduced load impact on the guideway structure and the minimization of space requirements for the train depot and berth which will lead to great cost savings in construction.

Some other features of the straddle-type small monorail include:
  1. Small and light vehicles with low noise levels
2. Vehicles capable of greater passenger carrying capacity
3. Slim guideway structure and design flexibility of the planned route
4. Lower construction costs

For the Sentosa Express, Hitachi Asia Ltd., together with Hitachi, Ltd., will be the builder of core systems such as monorail vehicles (2 vehicles x 4 configuration); signaling and power supply; operation systems and track switches; systems design and systems integration.

In the near future, Hitachi Asia has plans to actively pursue its South East Asian market in this region with Hitachi, Ltd. such as provided for the Sentosa Express. The Hitachi group will also actively seek to provide value-added end-to-end services to its clients in the region through its leading-edge technology in the straddle-type small monorail systems from planning support, design, and manufacturing of projects to total systems operations and maintenance (O & M) .

About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company, with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2001(ended March 31, 2002) consolidated sales totaled 7,994 billion yen ($60.1 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Web site at http://global.hitachi.com.

About Hitachi Asia Ltd.
Hitachi Asia Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. Established in 1989 with regional headquarters in Singapore, it has approximately 900 employees in Asia. The company has 21 subsidiaries, branches and offices across 10 Asian countries. The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors, including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems and consumer products. Fiscal 2001 (ended March 31, 2002) consolidated sales totaled S$4.75 billion. For more information about Hitachi Asia, please visit its website at http://www.hitachi.com.sg

 

Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.


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WRITTEN BY Corporate Communications Division
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