VIENTIANE, Sept 29 (NNN-KPL) – Xiang Ngeun No. 3 Tunnel, the last tunnel along the China-Laos Railway, in Luang Prabang Province, some 210 km north of the capital Vientiane, was drilled through today.
All 75 tunnels across the China-Laos Railway have been holed. The successful completion of the tunnels indicates that the controlling factors affecting the China-Laos railway project have been removed.
It also indicates that the China-Laos Railway is shifting from the large-scale civil engineering stage to station construction and installation, to the preparation for operation and management.
The China-Laos Railway, crosses the Mekong River twice, passing through two 60-km tropical forest mountain areas, with complex geology and harsh construction environment, such as steep terrain, turbulent rivers, broken rock formations, frequent water and mud inrush in tunnels.
According to the Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., a joint venture based in Vientiane, responsible for the construction and operation of the railway, since the start of construction in Dec, 2016, all participating engineering firms from China and Laos have overcome difficulties in organising construction resources and in materials and equipment.
However, they managed to promote the project, especially when facing the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, coordinating the deployment of construction resources, refining and optimising construction organisation.
By the end of Sept, the China-Laos railway completed all tunnel construction, installed rail tracks of 148 km, which is one-third of the railway, and ceiled the top of its first station in Nateuy.
The 422-km railway, with 198-km-long 75 tunnels and 62-km bridges, will run from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km per hour.
The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.
The project started in Dec, 2016, and is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in Dec, 2021.– NNN-KPL
