The Lao government is planning to include the construction of a national railway and super highway in its next five year socio-economic development plan, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The government was looking for sources of funding to roll out the large-scale projects, with the aim of turning Laos from a landlocked to a land-linked nation. Many foreign investors had expressed interest in the construction and operation of a railway and super-highway in Laos. Investors not only want the government to support them in construction and operation of a railway. The development of railways in Laos was feasible because Laos could provide overland transport of goods produced by the emerging economies of China, Thailand and Vietnam. Those countries need to transport goods through Laos to boost trade volume. Laos would benefit from being a transit country as local people could offer services to tourists and businesspeople travelling though Laos. Although the Lao government aims to turn Laos into a land-linked country, it still lacks basic infrastructure. At present there is only 3.5 km of railway, running from the middle of the Vientiane-Nong Khai Friendship Bridge of Thanalaeng station in Vientiane. The Chinese and Vietnamese governments have given Laos funding for surveys for possible railways from the North to the south and the east to the west. A Malaysian company is now conducting an economic feasibility study for a railway in Savannakhet province. Such a railway would make the transportation of goods and tourists between Thailand and Vietnam through Laos cheaper and easier.
Source: Vientiane Times
