中老铁路
2010年4月，中国与老挝两国间首次就合资建设、共同经营中老铁路达成共识；2012年10月，老挝国会批准了中老铁路项目；2015年12月，中老铁路老挝段举行了奠基仪式；2016年12月25日，中老铁路全线开工仪式在老挝北部琅勃拉邦举行。中老铁路不仅是第一个以中方为主投资建设、共同运营并与中国铁路网直接联通的境外铁路项目，也是继印尼雅万高铁项目之后第二个全面采用中国标准、中国技术和装备的国际铁路建设项目，该条线路同时也将成为泛亚铁路网的重要组成部分。中老铁路北起两国边境磨憨——磨丁口岸，南至万象，全长400多公里，其中62.7%以上路段为桥梁和隧道，设计时速160公里，预计2021年建成通车，总投资近400亿人民币，由中老双方按70%和30%的股比合资建设。中老铁路项目建成后，一方面将极大地带动老挝经济社会发展，提高当地运输效率和水平，扩大和提升老中两国在经济、贸易、投资、旅游等领域的合作，进一步增强中国—东盟自贸区的经济联系，另一方面也将为中国西南地区经济发展注入新的动力。
China-Laos railway
In April 2010, an agreement was reached between China and Laos on the first China-Laos railway to be financed, built and operated jointly by both countries; it was approved by the Lao parliament in October 2012. A ground-breaking ceremony was held in December 2015 for the Lao section of the line. The construction of China-Laos railway officially got underway on December 25, 2016, following a ceremony held in the northern Lao city of Luang Prabang.
This planned line is China’s first overseas railway project to provide a direct link to China’s internal rail network, and the second such project – after the Jakarta-Bandung rail link in Indonesia – to be built with Chinese technology and equipment to meet Chinese standards. It will also be an important section of the pan-Asia railway network.
Starting from the Mohan-Boten crossing at the China-Laos border, the 400-kilometer-long line will run south to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. 63 percent of the railway will consist of bridges and tunnels. It is scheduled to open in 2021, with a design speed of 160 kilometers per hour. The investment in the project will be about 40 billion Chinese yuan (US$5.76 billion), 70 percent of which comes from China and the remainder from Laos.
Once in service, the railway will significantly boost the economic and social development of Laos, facilitate local transportation and improve its efficiency, and expand cooperation between China and Laos in areas such as trade, investment and tourism. It will contribute to the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and inject new life into the economy in China’s southwest region.