Lao Railway Progress

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TJ
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by TJ » April 27, 2019, 2:45 pm

In Laos, A Chinese-Funded Railway Sparks Hope For Growth — And Fears Of Debt

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/26/70709126 ... rs-of-debt

"Eyler says China is a new power player in Laos, whose government most likely found this influx of cash for much needed infrastructure projects attractive. But many wonder if the Laotian government has the ability to pay back such large loans.

"And it's not just the railway's debt that's of concern, but it's the accumulating mass of debt related to Chinese projects in Laos that have put the country very much on alert for ... overleveraged debt," Eyler says.

Concerns about debt are not unique to Laos. Many experts have expressed misgivings over how China is financing large infrastructure projects in developing nations. A 2018 report by the Center for Global Development identified eight countries, including Laos, among 68 potential Belt and Road Initiative borrowers as being "at particular risk of debt distress."

A Vientiane resident is not convinced. She does not want NPR to use her name for fear that giving an interview to a journalist will result in retribution from the Laotian government.

The Chinese government has claimed that the rail project would create thousands of jobs for local people, but many Laotians say they don't know anyone who has been employed.

Her concern about the railway: "Because we borrow money from the Chinese government to build this railway and how much the Lao people have to owe, and pay back. The debt," she says. "So I'm not quite sure about the benefits."

Feeling left out

As Laos is a tightly controlled communist state, there likely isn't much dialogue between the Laotian government and the public, Eyler notes. The benefits of the railway to the Laotian people haven't been well-articulated, he says.

Just seeing the way in which the railway is being constructed has given residents pause. Despite the Chinese government's claiming that the project would create thousands of jobs for local people, many Laotians say they don't know anyone who has been employed.

"All the construction work was handed off to China Railway Group, and Chinese engineers and laborers have descended on [Laos] in droves. ... Not even the Laotian government is clear on the exact number of Chinese workers in the country," the Nikkei Asian Review reported in 2017.

As a direct neighbor with ample access to the critical Mekong River, China sees Laos as a vital link. The China-Laos railway is part of a line that will eventually extend from Kunming, the Yunnan provincial capital, south to Singapore.

Chinese state-run media have published various articles claiming the railway is changing local lives for the better. But on the ground, residents have told journalists that thousands were ordered off their land to make way for the railway and aren't being compensated as promised.

Some people living along the path of the new railway see its completion as tantamount to a Chinese invasion.

In Luang Prabang, a man who did not want to use his name for fear of government retribution says he understands why people would like a new train. It's faster, cheaper and makes traveling easier.

"But I worry that when the trains are completed, there will be many, many Chinese [moving] in from China to live in Laos and they will take the job[s] from local people," he says.

He says even the promise of more tourists coming into Luang Prabang isn't necessarily appealing. According to the local tourism office, the number of visitors to Luang Prabang in 2000 was just under 102,000. In 2018, more than 755,000 tourists came to the city — an increase of more than 600 percent. And in recent years, the tourists have overwhelmingly been Chinese. But Chinese tourists rely on Chinese-run tour groups, stay in Chinese-owned hotels and eat at Chinese-owned restaurants, the man says.

"All the money go back to China, not for Laos people," he says."



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Laan Yaa Mo
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » April 27, 2019, 9:05 pm

The same results apply to Burma. Mandalay has become a Chinese from Yunnan city, and they are the ones making money as are the Chinese in Yangon, Bago and the other cities. Some Rohingya still profit from the jade trade with China as mine owners, traders and slave (mostly Kachin) owners.
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » April 28, 2019, 10:27 pm

the Lao political leadership has been bought off. Laos will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the OBOR project within a few years...
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by TJ » April 29, 2019, 9:06 am

This article sheds more light on China's plans for transportation and other projects in foreign countries.

"China's Xi Jinping Brings In More Than $64 Billion In Belt And Road Deal

Data from Refinitiv shows the total value of projects in the scheme stands at $3.67 trillion, spanning countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and South America.

Initiative to recreate the old Silk Road is to deliver green and high-quality development.

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping on Saturday hailed deals worth more than $64 billion signed during China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) this week as he sought to reassure skeptics the project will deliver sustainable growth for all involved.

Xi said market principles will apply in all Belt and Road cooperation projects and that his signature initiative to recreate the old Silk Road joining China with Asia and Europe will deliver green and high-quality development.

"More and more friends and partners will join in Belt and Road cooperation," Xi said in his closing remarks. "The cooperation will enjoy higher quality and brighter prospects."

Data from Refinitiv shows the total value of projects in the scheme stands at $3.67 trillion, spanning countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and South America.

Some partner nations have complained about the high cost of projects of BRI, which was launched in 2013, while some western governments view it as a means to spread Chinese influence abroad, saddling poor countries with unsustainable debt.

China said this week it will establish a framework on debt sustainability to "prevent and resolve debt risks" as part of its efforts to allay such fears.

While most Belt and Road projects are continuing as planned, some have been caught up by changes in government in countries such as Malaysia and the Maldives.

China's state asset regulator said on Friday that at least 17 central government-owned firms, including companies such as China Railway Construction Corp and Mengniu Dairy, signed deals at the Belt and Road forum."

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3745345/posts

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » April 29, 2019, 9:36 am

Here is more evidence that the Myanmar-China relationship is getting closer,

https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-ch ... ology.html
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by the-monk » April 29, 2019, 10:02 am

Asians countries have been, slowly but surely, forming closer relationships for quite a while, especially after the 2008 World financial crisis, they have learned not to depend on the Western institutions which offered no help in solving that crisis. They ( the Asian countries) have turned inward to ASIA and China has taken the leadership in pushing for further integration from Beijing to Paris, depending on how the integration implementation will evolved it could be a Win-Win situation for the participants.
An interesting article...
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/26/opin ... index.html

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by tamada » April 29, 2019, 10:53 pm

Laan Yaa Mo wrote:
April 29, 2019, 9:36 am
Here is more evidence that the Myanmar-China relationship is getting closer,

https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-ch ... ology.html
The previous President U Thein Sein wasn't so open to the Chinese but that started to change when Htin Kyaw succeeded him. He resigned in 2018 and ever since, they've been getting chummy with the Chinese again. With these big signatures, it looks like full speed ahead on the Belt & Road.

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » May 25, 2019, 11:52 am

The Lao railway links into a China segment that extends the Yuxi railway line south of Kunming down through southwest China to Boten on the Lao border. Consider that not only are the Chinese building the Lao segment but a much longer rail line within China itself.. All scheduled for completion by the end of 2021. https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/rdxw/88415.htm#p=11
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by the-monk » May 25, 2019, 12:48 pm

Thanks, You might be interested in this site which provides a more detailed description of the project and at the bottom of the page you get <<Other International Trains between China and nearby Countries >>.

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china-trains/laos/

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by FrazeeDK » January 2, 2020, 6:21 pm

Longest tunnel in China-Lao Railway project "holed". 9,385 meters long spanning the mountain range between Luang Prabang and Vientiane Provinces. https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/qwyw/rdxw/114042.htm
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by tamada » January 2, 2020, 7:38 pm

^ I see that they still haven't bought a camera then.

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by laksnrub » January 3, 2020, 1:52 am

Inside the tunnel looking south west, you can just see the half moon daylight coming through, as the break out of the end, , foreground is the 2400 ton 180mt long mobile rail track cutter support frame work used to install the precast concrete panels, support air duct ventilation, and conveyor belt drives removing the rock, as well as the main gas turbine unit which generates both power and air flow
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by laksnrub » January 3, 2020, 1:56 am

Water supply line for the cutting head,in yellow and black, used during construction, after construction the pipe line supports a China standard 2 x 75mm and 1 x 100mm Fire Hydrant hose connection every 150mts, and the orange exhaust duct hanging vertical, no air is flowing, but when it does the duct fills out to 1000mm diam, the flow rate is 10mt3 a second
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by laksnrub » January 3, 2020, 2:02 am

North end of tunnel opening
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by laksnrub » January 3, 2020, 2:08 am

Vid of the tunnel build method

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eJG4QhgfwA
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by laksnrub » January 3, 2020, 2:14 am

Land pile heads ready to take the box beam track support
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by laksnrub » January 3, 2020, 2:22 am

Precast concrete wall panels in storage, waiting delivery to site
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by tamada » January 3, 2020, 8:15 am

And not a single Chinaman or slave laborer in sight.

Truly bloody amazing, eh?

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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by laksnrub » January 3, 2020, 11:48 am

If you have good eyesight you can make out its a chinaman
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Re: Lao Railway Progress

Post by laksnrub » January 3, 2020, 11:50 am

More slave workers building the tunnel :-" :-" :-"
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