A straw poll of work colleagues will quickly confirm that few know the geographical location of Djibouti despite it being a strategically key port on the busiest shipping route in the world. The Belt and Road Initiative will have a transformational effect on a place known as the Crossroads Nation.

The highly distinctive and recognisable Aedas strategic master plan for Djibouti will reinvigorate the city and encourage the growth in trade of capital, goods and services through the whole of East Africa.

The strategic military bases within the city make it very secure. Its political stability is an additional asset. Its people incredibly polite and always smiling and the potential for growth is huge. Already its telecommunications system ranks among the best in Africa.

The strategic master plan is a progressive and sustainable model for regeneration that not only looks to the future but also draws from the rich heritage and culture of the city and the country. The astonishing cultural diversity of Djibouti, apparent in its historic French Colonial Quarter and Arabic houses, informs the urban grain and scale of the masterplan and ties the new into the historic fabric.

There is a danger with a master plan proposal of this scale is that the historic context and diversity is lost amongst the delivery of a skyline of high-rise towers and reflective glass. It is better to create a master plan that has been informed by the special nature of the place and so works with it.

The development is on the key peninsula site of Djibouti and will deliver not only a new and vibrant waterfront, but create a series of distinct places within a sustainable environment, offering leisure and tourist facilities, commercial office space, cultural and residential quarters and a focus for new foreign investment to the city and so the wider country. The master plan focus is not about buildings alone but is equally about space and places for the population to gather and connect. It has a new cultural heart which creates a public venue and focus for a new chapter in Djibouti’s history.

The recently completed railway connections and the planned airport upgrades will sit alongside the new port and cruise terminals ensuring that a full range of transport infrastructure facilities will be in place to deliver the sustained economic regeneration of the wider Aedas master plan. The huge benefits of the industrial parks and modern farms will ensure goods and services are able to be presented, traded and moved out from Djibouti, by various routes.

Catering for local and international investors and manufacturers, the master plan recognises culture and national identity as key to the success of the new opportunity, with revitalisation an ongoing process, which involves public participation as well as private investment. In addition the key principles of public space and landscape themes are in evidence throughout the masterplanning guidelines and will create the distinctive places Aedas has set out to deliver.

信用保險項下項目融資業務是指我公司中長期保險和投資保險項下融資，針對的是出口買方信貸項目和出口賣方信貸項目以及海外投資項目，它適用於大型工程承包、機電成套設備出口及海外投資企業的融資。我公司通過對銀行貸款提供風險保障支持銀行滿足相關企業項目融資需求或通過賠款轉讓協議將銀行對相關企業的融資風險提供保障。

一、出口賣方信貸保險項下融資

是我公司提供的一類政策性保險產品，它以擴大我國出口、保障企業收匯為目的，對因政治風險或商業風險引起的出口方在商務合同項下應收的延付款損失承擔賠償責任。經我公司同意，出口方在將保單項下的賠償權益轉讓給貸款銀行，可以向銀行申請融資。如進口方未按商務合同規定償還到期款項致使出口方無法獲得貨款歸還銀行貸款時，我公司根據《賠款權益轉讓協議》將應支付給出口方的賠款直接支付給銀行。

操作流程：

（一）我公司根據出口商投保申請，辦理正式承保手續。

（二）我公司與出口商共同選擇適合的融資銀行，三方就投保賣方信貸保險後辦理貿易融資達成一致後，簽訂《賠款權益轉讓協議》；

（三）客戶憑保單、《保險單生效通知書》到銀行申請融資。

二、投資保險項下融資

為投資者因遭受承保風險而發生的損失提供經濟補償，維護投資者和融資銀行權益，避免其因投融資損失而發生財務危機或壞賬。投資者或融資銀行也將因此鎖定風險，從而降低風險準備金和提高資金使用率。投資者投保投資保險後，可以大幅提升投資的安全性，解除銀行對高風險業務的顧慮，從而獲得優惠信貸支持。同時，我公司積極參與國際資本市場，與眾多國際金融機構保持密切聯繫，可以提供多渠道、多元化的融資支持服務。

操作流程：

（一）投資者向我公司投保投資保險。

（二）我公司收取保險費後，出具保險單及《投資保險保單生效通知書》。

（三）投資者如需融資，向我公司提交《投資保險賠款轉讓授權書》，我公司收到上述文件後，向投資者出具《投資保險賠款轉讓確認書》。

（四）投資者持保險單、《投資保險保單生效通知書》、《投資保險賠款轉讓授權書》、《投資保險賠款轉讓確認書》及銀行要求的其他文件向銀行申請融資。

（五）但當發生保險事故時，我公司根據《投資保險賠款轉讓授權書》，將應付給投資者的賠款直接支付給銀行。

三、買方信貸保險項下融資

是指在買方信貸融資方式下，我公司向貸款銀行提供還款風險保障的一種政策性保險產品。在買方信貸保險中，貸款銀行是被保險人。在發生保險責任範圍內的損失時，被保險人按規定的格式向我公司提交《可能損失通知書》，在保險等待期滿後，被保險人可向我公司正式提賠， 我公司將根據核定的實際損失金額和賠償比例，將賠款直接支付給銀行。

操作流程：

（一）投保人應在商務合同正式簽訂前詢保，填寫《出口買方信貸保險詢保單》，並按《申報材料清單》提供有關的資料。

（二）我公司出具《興趣函》。為支持出口企業競爭項目，對於商務和融資條件尚未明確的投標或議標項目，如基本符合承保條件，我公司可以應投保人要求出具《出口買方信貸保險興趣函》。

（三）我公司出具意向書。對於符合受理條件、項目情況明確、資料齊全的項目，應投保人要求，可以出具《出口買方信貸保險承保意向書》

（四）項目條件最終確定後，投保人填寫《出口買方信貸保險投保單》，並補充相應的資料。

（五）我公司提出承保方案，確定《保險單明細表》的內容。承保方案批准後承保人出具《保險費通知書》，投保人交納保險費。

（六）在我公司收到全部或分期交費條件下第一筆保險費後，出具《保險單生效通知書》，保險責任期開始。

四、再融資保險

主要是對銀行買斷企業應收賬款後，銀行作為債權人對付款人的收款風險提供保障，支持銀行對有融資需求企業進行融資。

操作流程：

（一）企業與銀行就應收賬款轉讓事宜基本達成一致意見後，由融資銀行提出再融資保險業務的書面申請並提供相關文件。

（二）我公司對應收賬款付款人審批信用限額，收取保險費。

（三）融資銀行根據我公司批復的付款人信用限額對買入的企業應收賬款提供融資服務。

（四）當發生保險責任範圍內的損失時，融資銀行按規定的格式向我公司提交《可能損失通知書》，在保險等待期滿後，被保險人可向我公司正式提賠， 我公司將根據核定的實際損失金額和賠償比例，將賠款直接支付給銀行。

The challenge of building a safe and efficient high-speed rail route involves looking beyond just the new high-speed section, say rail specialists Edwin Marks and Mat Brough.

As the new generation of high-speed rail starts to be designed and built, some routes will be run solely on dedicated high-speed rail track, but others will use a combination of high-speed and existing main line. For high-speed train drivers the transition from high-speed to main line can be an exaggerated version of what car drivers experience when they come off the motorway onto a winding country road. These transitions are among the key considerations where safety requires special attention.

Towards a safer high-speed rail

The first step towards a safer new railway is quantifying the change in velocity between high-speed rail and conventional main line to understand the need to focus on the transitions. As an example, Britain’s new HS2 trains will travel on dedicated track at speeds of up to 400km/h. Contrast that with the UK’s current ‘fast’ West Coast Main Line, parts of which were first built 180 years ago, with a top speed of around 200km/h. Phase one of HS2 between London and Birmingham will be using existing main line to take passengers further north.

Safer track transitions

Compliance to standard has gone a long way to designing out risk on new high-speed infrastructure, but evidence suggests that interfaces between old and new networks are potential weak points, For example, high-speed trains behave unpredictably when moving between the two predominant track forms – ballasted and slab. Work is currently under way on the potential of a third trackform with good high speed rail applications – asphalt track. A midway option between ballasted and slab, and taking the best from both, asphalt is currently the subject of a study being undertaken for the Rail Safety and Standards Board by AECOM. The outcome includes an asphalt track design toolkit and transition design solutions to minimize issues at trackform interfaces.

Other key challenges

Previous safety incidents around the world highlight two major issues where robust risk assessment is essential by those designing, maintaining and operating interfaces between new and existing routes:

The first is lower speed curves. High-speed line is designed to be as straight as possible and any curves are ­angled to suit high velocity. For example, at Santiago de Compostela in Spain in 2013 the driver braked too late at the end of the high speed route, entering the following curve too fast and the entire train overturned against a retaining wall. Because the accident site was not considered part of the high speed route it was not fitted with the same level of train protection to govern speed. 79 died and 140 were injured.

And the second – lineside structures not built to accommodate high speed traffic. At Eschede in Germany in 1998 on a historic route upgraded for high speed, a wheel defect derailed the front part of the train which then brought down a bridge resulting in the catastrophic pile-up of the rest of the train. 101 died and 100 were injured.

In addition, further important considerations include risk assessments on operational interface issues such as:

• changes in the signalling system and complex signalling interfaces

• changes in the operation control centre and who is supervising the train

• changes in operational procedures and expected driver behaviour

• change in power supply and electromagnetic compatibility

• maintenance at the transition between the track forms.

Safer solutions

Spain’s recent investment in high-speed networks provides exemplary solutions for reducing risk.

In managing lower speed curves for example, AECOM’s centre of rail excellence in Madrid has designed alignments that keep similar speeds on adjacent parameters. In addition, signalling systems are designed to govern train speed thus significantly reducing the possibility of human error.

In terms of lineside structures, the centre has designed ‘greenfield’ lines. Structures, such as overpasses, are designed according to Spanish guidelines keeping structural piles at a safe distance from tracks. Derailment is more likely at switches and crossings, so these are not allowed under or in the vicinity of overpasses

Meanwhile, on the other operational interface issues, continuity in areas such as communications and compatibility between systems are key to safety. The Madrid centre’s work has included numerous safety enhancements. In signalling for example, an integration process has been developed for different signalling systems and providers at interfaces to reduce risk of communication being lost. In another project, tools were developed to manage the interface between different control centres. Usually control for the high-speed line is not the same as that for the conventional one and both can be managed by separate companies, so the procedure for alerting one another about the handover of trains has to be carefully managed.

Innovation case study – World first in rail track testing

Reducing rail maintenance and increasing passenger safety, the innovative, mechanized Rail Trackbed Stiffness Tester (RTST) has been designed for use on rail networks worldwide. By gathering vital data quickly, safely and accurately, the award-winning machine provides engineers with important track structure performance information which can be used for design, construction validation or understanding of failure sites. Before the machine was developed, gathering track stiffness measurements was labour and time intensive. The machine is currently being programmed for use on several high speed railway infrastructure maintenance liability sites to assess causes of failure. Results can hopefully be used to guide future best practice in high speed track formation design.

By EDWIN MARKS, Associate Director, AECOM and MAT BROUGH, Asset Management Leader, Rail, AECOM