Chinese maker of electric vehicles BYD Co. Ltd expects to begin building in November a 20 km viaduct that will carry a monorail connecting an island off northeastern Brazil to the mainland, the China News Service reports.

The Chinese news agency quotes a BYD executive, Li Tie, as saying in an interview that the monorail crossing will be built in two phases.

Mr Li said his company would apply advanced technology for conserving energy and protecting the environment in solving the problem of road traffic congestion in the area the monorail will serve.

The US$689 million monorail will connect the city of Salvador and the island of São João, and is due to carry its first passengers in April 2021, the China News Service says.