HONG KONG -- MTR Corp., Hong Kong's public transport operator, was keen to invest in the Chinese mainland's western regions, the company's chief executive officer said Monday.

In contrast to eastern cities where a lot of development had already taken place, China's western provinces presented "real and extraordinary" opportunities for companies like MTR, Jay Walder said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

"The process of urbanization that is underway underscores how important public transit metro systems are for growing, thriving cities. The western cities will be and should be built on the backbone of public transport," said Walder, who became CEO in January 2012. He was previously chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York, the largest transit agency in the United States.

MTR has long been a strategic partner of the Chinese government in terms of the development of metros. It operates subway lines in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Last September, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Guangdong provincial government to build an intercity railway linking Guangzhou and Foshan.

More recently, the first phase of Line 14 of the Beijing subway, which is being built by Beijing MTR Corp., went into operation in early May. Beijing MTR Corp. is a joint venture of MTR, the Beijing Capital Group, and the Beijing Infrastructure Investment Co.

Walder said another advantage of western cities was their attention to the environment. "They have a desire to be able to create cities that are large, complex and support business activities, but are environmentally friendly at the same time," he said.

The fast development of the mainland's western cities excited MTR, and the company planned to introduce its lucrative "rail plus community" model to potential customer cities, he said.

In Hong Kong, MTR invested heavily to develop large-scale shopping centers and residential housing around MTR stations. Property is one of the main businesses of the company, with the profits from this arm outstripping those from fares.

One of the best parts of Hong Kong transit systems is "the integration of the railway system with the community," which makes travelling seamless and efficient, Walder said.

As for the mainland's public transport services, he said transit systems were generally good in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but interchanges might be a problem there.

In Hong Kong, passengers literally walk across the platform from one line to another line. However, in Beijing, passengers have to walk down long corridors before transferring to another line, he said.

Walder said the government should take interchanges into consideration in its future planning of subway lines.