Laos, China pick up steam with tunnel to link railroad systems
IN MOHAN, a small town in Southwest China’s Yunnan province bordering Laos, the construction of the Friendship Tunnel is making brisk headway seven days a week.
The 9.68-kilometre railway tunnel will connect both sides of the border, with 7.17km in China and 2.51km in Laos.
The boring of the tunnel began in June last year. Running slightly behind schedule due to challenging geological conditions, the project is scheduled for completion in July 2019.
“The railway tunnel starts here in China’s Mohan, and the other end will be in Boten of Laos,” said Zhang Shuai, secretary and engineer of the tunnel project contractor China Railway No2 Engineering Group, as he pointed to an underground passage below the rolling mountains.
“The Friendship Tunnel is China’s first railway tunnel that crosses the border,” he added.
When completed, it will be a crucial link for passenger and freight trains, and key to the China-Laos railway, which will connect the rail networks of both countries.
Chen Lijun, researcher and director of the Institute for South Asian Studies at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, believes the new railway will boost the economy of the rural town of Mohan.
“Just as the Chinese saying goes, better roads lead to better life. Mohan residents will see more new houses and cars as the town becomes a major node on the China-Laos railway,” he said.
There is a similar sense of anticipation for Boten and other areas in Laos near the border.
Boten is the starting point of the 414km China-Laos railway to Vientiane, the Laos capital. It is the first overseas rail route linking China’s network, using Chinese technology and investment.
With a total investment of 40 billion yuan ($6 billion), the Chinese and Laotian governments established a joint venture last year to build, manage and operate the railway.
China will finance and own 70 percent of the venture, while Laos will be responsible for the remainder.
The challenging project will see China exporting its top railway technology, with more than 62 percent of the route requiring bridges and tunnels.
Six Chinese companies have successfully bid for the construction of the Boten-Vientiane railway, ensuring the ap- plication of Chinese standards, equipment and technology.
“The success of the ChinaLaos railway will have an international significance, manifesting China’s true ability in taking its railway technology abroad,” said Luo Hengfu, China Railway No2 Engineering Group’s project manager for the Friendship Tunnel at Mohan.
The railway construction project will involve 20 Laos firms as subcontractors, supervised and assisted by Chinese companies.
“We will try to ensure that this multibillion-dollar project benefits local companies as well,” Koung Souk-Aloun, director of the construction project and of the Lao National Railway Company, told the Vientiane Times last September.
The Laos section of the railway will run south toward Vientiane through the provinces of Luang Namtha, Oudomxay and Luang Prabang. The project will impact these communities as many residents will be forced to relocate to make way for construction.
Displaced families
Vientiane authorities will determine the compensation to be awarded to households who will lose land and crops to the Laos-China railway according to the Prime Ministerial Decree on Compensation and Resettlement for People Affected by Development Projects, issued in April 2016.
Under the decree, people who give up land to development projects must be compensated for lost income, property, crops, and plants. Project developers are required to guarantee that living conditions for those who are displaced will be as good as, or better than, they were before the project commenced.
Vientiane Mayor Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune explained the situation yesterday at the 1st Ordinary Session of the Vientiane People’s Council.
Sinlavong said the compensation policy and property unit price must be decided upon in a just, fair and open manner with the involvement of the project developer, local residents, state officials and other relevant parties.
“We expect it will take two years to complete compensation payments for land, which must be awarded according to market prices to ensure that people are fairly compensated. This is being done with the participation and consent of the people concerned,” he said.
“We would like to accelerate the process, but everything must be done in an orderly fashion so that people are satisfied. We don’t consider that things are being delayed because we are acting in accordance with the required processes.”
The authorities expect the railway project’s steering committee to approve the final compensation scheme, though assessments of the social and environmental impact of the railway are taking time.
There are many different categories of compensation to be considered, such as that for jackfruit and mango trees five years of age or older, hardwood and teak trees less than a year old, and land near main roads. A survey to collect information about people in the impacted districts who will be displaced or lose property to make way for the railway is now complete, paving the way for compensation payments.