Lao rail web stretching further into Thailand
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A Thai contractor yesterday began construction of Thanalaeng Station, an extension to the current rail link between Vientiane and Thailand's Nong Khai province.
Sermsaguan Construction Company won the Lao government tender to build the facilities at a cost of almost 144 billion kip (Bt590 million).
Work to be carried out includes building a container yard, dormitories for staff and a rail operations office, as well as improving railway signals, said Deputy Director General of the Railway Department, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Sonesack N Nhansana.
Construction is set to be completed within 18 months.
The second phase will be financed through a loan and 30-per-cent grant from Thailand’s Neighbouring Development Agency amounting to more than 173 billion kip.
The 3.5km Vientiane-Nong Khai railway, which opened a few years ago, is the first rail link between Laos and Nong Khai.
Sonesack described the second phase of the project as an “effective investment” to meet the growing need for cross-border rail transport for both passengers and goods.
He said the project will add fuel to the government’s efforts to create an efficient logistics system for the Lao capital.
Laos is also developing other railway projects as part of efforts to turn the landlocked country into a transit hub for neighbouring countries.
The government recently confirmed it will go ahead with a high-speed rail link to China stretching 421km and costing US$7-billion (Bt226 billion).
The government has also given the green light to a Malaysian investor to build a $5-billion high-speed railway to link central Savannakhet province with the Lao-Vietnamese border over a distance of 220km.
