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Posted: Dec 3, 2021/04:54 CST
Updated: 12/3/2021 / 6:15 AM CST
A railroad worker stands on the platform as a train leaves the station for a test drive in Pu’er, southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Laos, a nation of 7 million wedged between China, Vietnam and Thailand, is opening a $ 5.9 billion China-built railroad connecting China’s poor southwest to overseas markets, but amassing potentially risky debt. (Chinatopix via AP)
BEIJING (AP) – Following a blessing from Buddhist monks, Laotian Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh drove the first ride on a $ 5.9 billion China-built railroad connecting isolated, mountainous Laos with southern China to trade on Friday to increase.
Both governments are promoting the 1,035-kilometer route from the Laotian capital Vientiane to Kunming in poor southwest China as a boost for economic growth. But it leaves a debt that foreign experts warn that Laos, a 7 million-person country sandwiched between China, Vietnam and Thailand, may struggle to repay.
The railroad is one of hundreds of projects under the Beijing Belt and Road Initiative to build ports, railways and other facilities in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Poor countries welcome the initiative, but some complain that they owe too much to Chinese banks.
The first train left Vientiane after an inauguration ceremony held by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith via video link from their capitals, the Laotian news agency reported.
On Thursday, Laotian monks in saffron robes held a ceremony for the railway, the Laotian news agency announced.
For the time being, the train is only supposed to transport freight across the border, as driving bans have been imposed on passenger traffic to contain the coronavirus.
The Kunming-Vientiane railway is a link in a possible future network connecting China with Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore. That would give southern China more access to ports and export markets.
Chinese contractors are building a high-speed line from the Thai capital Bangkok to the Lao border. That won’t be completed until 2028, leaving a gap between the border and the line to China.
The borrowed money makes up 60% of Deutsche Bahn’s investments. Foreign experts say that this is unusually high for an infrastructure project and increases the risk that the railway will not generate enough income to repay its debts.
Laos has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world for the past decade, but it is still one of the poorest. The average economic output per person has more than doubled since 2010, but now stands at $ 2,600.
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https://www.kxan.com/news/international/laos-opens-railway-to-china-as-debt-to-beijing-rises/
