Laos' rail network development plan disclosed
The Lao government has announced that it will pursue the development of at least four rail lines that will turn landlocked Laos into a land-linked nation with the planned Laos-China rail project given as top priority.
Minister of Public Works and Transport Dr Bounchanh Sinthavong told a press conference last week that construction of the Laos-China rail project, initially estimated to cost US$6.8 billion, was expected to begin in November after both sides agreed on the form of co-finance.
The Lao and Chinese governments will contribute 40 percent of the project investment, while state enterprises of the two sides will source the remaining 60 percent of the finance. The rail line will link the Lao capital of Vientiane with the Chinese border at a distance of 417 km.
Dr Bounchanh said the three-day biannual meeting between the cabinet, Vientiane Mayor and provincial governors that closed last week, where he presented a report on the project, agreed on the expected construction date.
Lao and Thai authorities are working together to identify a location to construct a new Vientiane-Nongkhai Mekong Bridge to accommodate the regional rail system, which will link China's Kunming to Singapore, passing through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia, the minister told the meeting.
Second top priority is given to the planned development of the Vientiane–Thakhek–Muya rail project technically known as the A3 rail project that will link the Lao capital with the Vietnamese border over a distance of 450km.
The A3 rail line, which will access Laos to Vung A ng seaport in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province and a seaport in Thailand, will connect with the Kunming-Singapore rail network that uses the same standard - the 1.435-metre standard-gauge rail, the minister said.
He added that the government of the Republic of Korea through Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica) extended another support of US$3 million to carry out the feasibility study, saying that the study is set to begin at the end of this year.
In addition, developers and relevant officials are working on detailed design of the US$5 billion Savan-Lao Bao rail project technically known as the 3C rail project that will link the Lao central province of Savannakhet to the Lao-Vietnamese Dansavanh-Lao Bao border checkpoint.
In 2012, the Lao government signed an agreement with a Malaysian investor, Giant Rail Company Limited, to develop the 3C rail project some 220km in length.
The Malaysian developer said the project will contribute to the Lao government's efforts in linking the East-West Economic Corridor involving a railway route from Myanmar to Thailand and Laos and ending with the construction of My Thuy Deep Sea Port at Dong Ha in Quang Tri province of Vietnam.
Additionally, Dr Bounchanh told the meeting that an initial survey on the 3D rail project that will link central Thakhek-Seno-Pakxe-Vangtao was completed. The line will link Thakhek in Khammuan province to Vangtao in Champassak that shares a border with Thailand. The minister said the four rail lines will be developed with the same standard - the 1.435-metre standard-gauge rail.
