Laos-China railway is a milestone project for Laos, opening a new chapter of connectivity for the only landlocked country in South-East Asia, said Lao officials.
“When the Laos-China railway started operation, it opened a new phase of the development of Laos,” said Saleumsak Sayamoungkhoun, director general of the Lao Ministry of Public Works and Transport’s Permanent Secretary Office.
“It is part of the transportation reform in the country that can connect Laos with many countries in the region, such as China and other South-East Asian countries.
“It is a milestone for the development of Laos,” Saleumsak told a media group on Monday (June 24).
Organised by the Chinese Mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China Daily, a group of 25 journalists and influencers from China and Asean are on a media tour along the Laos-China railway from June 23 to 30.
The China-Laos railway, a flagship project under the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), connects China’s southwestern city of Kunming with the Laotian capital of Vientiane.
The Lao section of the railway, with a total length of 422.4km and a designed speed of 160km per hour, is an electrified single-track railway built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.