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Laos-China railway launched amid concern over debt to China

 


A railroad connecting Laos and the Chinese border was launched on Friday over concerns that the high amount of debt the Southeast Asian country owes China for the project would force it to forgo concessions .

Laos is banking on the economic benefits its first long-distance railway will bring through increased trade, while China hopes its renowned infrastructure project under its Belt and Road Initiative ‘will eventually extend to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, and create a land route to the Indo-Pacific.

A train is pictured in Vientiane, Laos, as a Chinese-built railway that connects the Lao capital to the Chinese city of Kunming opens on December 3, 2021. (Kyodo) == Kyodo

The 414-kilometer single-track railway connects the Laotian capital Vientiane with Boten on the northern border with China. The road eventually leads to Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, covering a distance of about 1,000 km.

The new railway offers both passenger and freight services, with six of the 10 originally planned passenger stations open. Electric trains on the track can go up to 160 km / h, connecting Vientiane and Boten in about three hours. The track passes through 75 tunnels with a total length of approximately 197 km.

Construction took more than four years from the end of 2016 after a formal agreement between the governments of Laos and China in 2015. It was built at a cost of around $ 5.9 billion, of which around $ 3.5 billion borrowed from the Import-Export Bank of China.

Laos-China Railway Co., a joint venture 70% owned by China and the rest by Laos, built the railway. He also has the right to operate the railway for the 50-year concession period. After that, the Lao government will take over.

Since most of the costs have been borne by China, Laos’ dependence on China is likely to increase. This has raised concerns about the “debt trap” in which countries receiving Chinese investments are struggling with loans they cannot repay.

Laos remains one of the poorest countries in Asia.

Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a virtual meeting and attended the inauguration of the railway on Friday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (top right) and his Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith remotely attend the opening ceremony of a Chinese-built railway that connects the capital of Laos, Vientiane, to the Chinese city of Kunming , December 3, 2021. (Kyodo) == Kyodo

In his remarks, Thongloun called the occasion a historic moment for the Laotian people.

The first run on the track was made from Vientiane on Friday afternoon with senior government officials and diplomats on board. A train also left Kunming on the Chinese side.

Full passenger service between Vientiane and Boten is expected to start on Saturday.


Associated coverage:

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FOCUS: China, India and Russia seek to influence vaccine diplomacy

Japan baffled by Indonesia’s policy change on high-speed rail project


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