Calls for Laotian firms to make better use of railway

Businesses in Laos, especially smaller ones, need more support to better seize the opportunities arising from the China-laos Railway and enhance their competitiveness in regional trade, officials and experts say.

“The China-laos Railway is a very good project that has been started and implemented successfully. We can see so far, the railway is fully in use,” said Xaybandith Rasphone, president of the Association of the Lao Garment Industry and vice-president of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

However, Xaybandith believes that, compared with big companies, including those in China and other neighbouring countries like Thailand, it is still challenging for Laotian companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMES), to make full use of the railway.

“The capacity and the products that we produce here have not yet reached the volume that can be supplied to the Chinese market,” said Xaybandith, adding that there is a need for government support.

The total freight volume transported by the China-laos Railway had exceeded 10 million tonnes as of Nov 7.

Of the total, the cross-border cargo transportation volume stood at 1.8 million tonnes, with the value hitting 12 billion yuan (Rm7.57bil), according to China Railway Kunming Group.

Opened on Dec 3 last year, the 1,035km line connects Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province, with Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

With a design speed of 160kmp/h, the route slashes the travel time between the two cities to 10 hours from 30 hours by road.

Litthikay Phoummasak, president of the Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Association of Laos, said business communities in Laos and neighbouring countries like Thailand have been working since the beginning of the year to improve collaboration on the use of the China-laos Railway to promote trade.

“Many local investors invest in agriculture, logistics, warehouses and industrial properties, as they expect that the Chinalaos Railway will make Laos the trade and logistics hub of the region,” Litthikay said.

However, improvements are needed to provide better access to the railway for Laotian businesses, Litthikay said, adding that hurdles include high logistics prices charged by agents and the lack of an online ticket booking platform for passengers.

With reference to media reports of an influx of tourists from Thailand as a result of the new railway track, Litthikay said it is important to make the ticketing process smoother and better regulated to support the recovery of the tourism sector, a key contributor to Laos’ economy. — China Daily/ ANN