Laos

After two years of hard work, the Boding Tunnel of the China-Laos Railway was completed 7 months ahead of schedule. Lao Minister of Industry and Trade Kaimani Penzana said-"Our dream is being realized step by step" (jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative)

   "In the future, you will never have to suffer from the twists and turns of the mountain road. It takes 13 hours to drive from Vientiane to Boding, and less than 4 hours by train."

   "The successful completion of the Boding Tunnel is a major node for the construction of the China-Laos Railway; for the Lao people, this is an important historical moment and has created a miracle in the history of Lao construction."

    With the sound of a crisp cannon, the Boding Tunnel of the China-Laos Railway was successfully completed a few days ago. The construction teams at both ends of the tunnel waved flags and joined together smoothly. "Vientiane Times" commented on this: "The China-Laos Railway will push Laos' economic development into a new stage."

"China-Laos Railway is the largest investment project in Laos history"

    In Laos in March, the northern mountains and forests passed by the rain, and the blue sky was washed away. The bridges and subgrades of the China-Laos Railway began to take shape. Entering the Boding Tunnel, the broad arches of the tunnel are flat and the walls are smooth. A ray of sunlight enters the tunnel, reflecting a golden light. In the near future, this railway connecting China and Laos will quickly pass through the tunnel to the vast plains.

    The Boding Tunnel on the China-Laos Railway is 6453.5 meters long. It was constructed by the China Railway Fifth Bureau. It is one of 10 long tunnels over 5 kilometers in length on the entire line. After two years of hard work, the tunnel was completed 7 months earlier than the design schedule.

    "The tunnel has bad geology such as karst, bedding, fault fracture zone, carbonaceous mudstone, etc., and changes frequently. After working on tunnel projects for most of my life, I have rarely encountered such highly difficult tunnels." The design unit China Railway Eryuan Mill Tang Wanchun, deputy manager of the Wanyuan Railway Project Department, said with emotion. This expert with nearly 30 years of tunnel design experience was also stressed at first when faced with the geological structure of the tunnel.

    "It used to be a landslide, and it was like a'water curtain cave' when it was excavated. The maximum daily water inflow reached 20,000 cubic meters." Zhou Xiaoxia, the project manager of the first section of the Mowan Railway Section of the China Railway Fifth Bureau, told reporters about the difficulties of tunneling: " We strictly implement the requirements of mechanization, factoryization, informatization, and professional management, and ensure the safe and orderly progress of tunnel construction by strengthening on-site safety and quality control, extensive use of tunnel construction kits, and vigorously developing scientific and technological research."

    For the past two years, Wen Guirong, the tunnel operator of the No. 2 Company of China Railway No. 5 Bureau, has witnessed all aspects of tunnel construction. He said: "We have undertaken the most difficult tunnel construction task, and our excitement today is beyond description."

    "You will never have to be tortured by the winding mountain roads anymore. It takes 13 hours to drive from Vientiane to Boding, and less than 4 hours by train." The Department of Transportation of Lao Nanta Province, who came to inspect the tunnel penetration. Chang Suvarnabhumi told reporters: "The China-Laos Railway is the largest investment project in Laos history and a major landmark project in the modernization process of Laos."

    Like Suvarnabhumi, people in Nanta, Vientiane and other parts of Laos are all paying attention to this good news. Lao National Television, Vientiane Times and People’s Daily have sent reporters to report on the completion of the Boding tunnel. "Vientiane Times" reporter Campan said: "The China-Laos railway is a hot topic in Laos."

"2019 is a crucial year for civil engineering decisive battles and decisive victory"

    The China-Laos Railway starts from Boding, the China-Laos border port in the north, and arrives in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, in the south. It is the first overseas railway project that is invested and constructed by China as the mainstay, jointly operated by China and Laos, and directly connected to the Chinese railway network. The total length of the line is 414 kilometers. The entire line adopts Chinese technical standards and uses Chinese equipment. The construction of the line started in December 2016 and entered the full construction state in mid-2017. It is planned to be completed and opened to traffic in December 2021.

    "The successful completion of the Boding Tunnel is a major node for the construction of the China-Laos railway; for the Lao people, this is an important historical moment and has created a miracle in the history of Lao construction." The deputy of the Lao Central Commission for Discipline Inspection attended the ceremony. Secretary Kansu Benjavon said.

    After more than two years of construction, the China-Laos railway civil engineering project completed 65% of the total bidding contract value, and 57% of the offline civil engineering completed, of which 76% of the roadbed was completed, 41% of the bridge was completed, 11 tunnels were penetrated across the line, and 53 of the tunnels were completed. %.

    "2019 is a crucial year for civil engineering to decisively and decisively, and other civil engineering projects will enter the final stage." Ju Guojiang, chairman of the China-Laos Railway Co., Ltd., responsible for the construction and operation of the China-Laos railway, told reporters.

    The China-Laos railway project is a strategic docking project between China’s “One Belt One Road” initiative and Laos’ “turning a land-locked country into a land-union country”. The Lao government attaches great importance to it and has established a project steering committee headed by the Minister of Public Works and Transport. The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Labor and other ministries and commissions as well as leaders from four provinces and one city along the route serve as members to coordinate and promote the construction of the China-Laos railway. "After the opening of the China-Laos Railway, it will also speed up the development of connectivity and integration between Laos and other ASEAN countries, and become a major transportation artery running through the north and south of Laos and a new engine for the modernization of Laos." Kansu said.

"After the completion of the railway, it will greatly promote the economic development of Nantha Province and Laos as a whole"

    The area along the China-Laos Railway is rich in mineral resources and tourism resources. The ancient capital Luang Prabang, the beautiful Vang Vieng, and Vientiane, which has many historical sites, are all tourist attractions in Laos. After the completion of the China-Laos Railway, the north-south traffic in Laos will be greatly improved, and the travel time from Vientiane to the China-Laos border will be shortened to less than 4 hours.

    The China-Laos Railway will also play its core role in the China-Laos Economic Corridor, increase the coordinated development of tourism, commerce, agriculture, animal husbandry, and processing industries along the route, and push Laos' national economy into a new era driven by rail transportation. Suvarnabhumi said: "The China-Laos Railway has two stations in Nanta, one in Boding and the other in Nadui. Boding is a special economic zone, and Nadui is a distribution center for goods entering and leaving Laos. After the completion of the railway, it will be greatly improved. Promote the economic development of Nantha Province and Laos as a whole."

    The report issued by the Lao government predicts that the GDP growth rate of Laos will reach 6.7% in 2019, and industry will become the largest driving force for Lao’s economic growth in 2019. It is expected that the industrial growth rate will be 8.3% this year. This is mainly due to the fact that in various special economic zones. New factory established. Lao Parliament Member Campbell told reporters that many garment manufacturers and electronic equipment companies are gradually moving their production bases to Laos. After the opening of the China-Laos Railway, whether it is imported production raw materials or exported products, the freight will be reduced, and Lao industry will enter a rapid pace. Development period.

    "The changes in the villages that the railway passes through will be greater and the development will be faster. Many people in the village often go to see the railway construction and look forward to the early opening of traffic." A villager in Moping Village near the Boding Tunnel told reporters that the people here rely on farming, breeding and farming. Forestry makes a living, "After the railway is open, the villagers will transport fruits and rubber by train and sell them to China and more countries."

    The chairman of the Lao-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Committee and Minister of Industry and Trade of Laos, Kaimani Penzana, said when inspecting the China-Laos Railway: “I hope that the China-Laos railway project will be completed as soon as possible so that the Lao people can take the train to the world. Today, our dream It is being achieved step by step."