From Landlocked to Land-Linked : Unlocking the Potential of Lao-China Rail Connectivity
The Lao-China railway (also known as the Boten-Vientiane railway) is part of six international economic corridors under China’s belt and road initiative (BRI). As part of the BRI, the Vientiane-Boten railway connects Lao Peoples Democratic Republic...
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| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Vientiane
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/648271591174002567/From-Landlocked-to-Land-Linked-Unlocking-the-Potential-of-Lao-China-Rail-Connectivity http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33891 |
| Summary: | The Lao-China railway (also known as the
Boten-Vientiane railway) is part of six international
economic corridors under China’s belt and road initiative
(BRI). As part of the BRI, the Vientiane-Boten railway
connects Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (PDR) with not only
China (and eventually Singapore) but also the entire BRI
network. The railway section that connects Kunming in China
with Vientiane in Lao PDR is under construction, with plans
to build a railway terminal close to export processing zones
(EPZs) and the logistics park in Vientiane. The Thai railway
section is designed to carry passenger trains on a new
high-speed network while moving cargo traffic to the old
meter-gauge network, creating potential challenges for
transloading goods and passengers. The Lao-China railway
aims to create closer trade linkages between not only Lao
PDR and China but also between all economies in the BRI,
which is expected to lower trade costs and accelerate
economic growth and poverty reduction in the region. To
fully benefit from the railway investment, Lao PDR needs to
develop efficient services and production along the railway
corridor to outcompete maritime transport in terms of cost
and time. Increased domestic and foreign private-sector
investment will also require early information sharing with
the private sector regarding planned railway operations.
Policymakers need to adopt key policy reforms and build
complementary infrastructure to connect production areas to
the railway network. This study identifies key investments
and policy reforms to maximize the benefits of the
Vientiane-Boten railway for Lao PDR, demonstrating the
complementarity of hard and soft infrastructure investments. |
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