KPL
(KPL) The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has provided a grant of US$3 million for a two-year feasibility study for the proposed 550 km railway. The study will be conducted through 2017.
According to the KOICA Laos Office, from 13 to 16 July the Agency brought a group of Korean experts to Laos to discuss the implementation of the feasibility study on the construction of a railway linking Vientiane in Laos to Vung Ang in Vietnam.
The construction of the railway is to improve the transportation infrastructure of Laos as well as to contribute to accelerating ASEAN Economic integration by enhancing connectivity between Laos and Vietnam.
(KPL) The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has provided a grant of US$3 million for a two-year feasibility study for the proposed 550 km railway. The study will be conducted through 2017. According to the KOICA Laos Office, from 13 to 16 July the Agency brought a group of Korean experts to Laos to discuss the implementation of the feasibility study on the construction of a railway linking Vientiane in Laos to Vung Ang in Vietnam.
The construction of the railway is to improve the transportation infrastructure of Laos as well as to contribute to accelerating ASEAN Economic integration by enhancing connectivity between Laos and Vietnam.
The Korean team, consisting of experts from the Korea Rail Network Authority and professors at the University of Seoul, had meetings with Lao government officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment and also visited Thakhek district of Khammuan Province to discuss the plans with Khammuan and Borikhamxay provincial authorities.
The Resident Representative of the KOICA Lao Office, Mr Kim Hahng-joo, together with the experts, met the Director General of the Railway Department at the MPWT, Dr Sompong Pholsena on 15 July in Vientiane and agreed about the significant impacts of the project on the quality of life of residents living along the potential railway’s path as well as potential benefits from railway users from adjacent provinces and neighbouring countries by induced economic and social development.
As a result of the Korean experts' visit, KOICA is establishing detailed plans for the project's implementation and finalizing the Record of Discussion with the MPWT based upon mutual agreement.
The leader of the Korean experts' group, Dr Daegeun Park, mentioned that “This project will act as a bridge between the two countries and further link ASEAN countries.”
“By building a railway from Vientiane to Vung Ang, it is expected that the project will resolve many logistics and transportation related challenges Laos currently faces as a landlocked country, and so will contribute to regional economic development,” Dr Park said.
The group of experts was scheduled to visit Vietnam from 17 to 22 July, meeting government officials at the Ministry of Transportation and MPI as well as taking site surveys in Tanap, Vung Ang, and Han Tinh.
KPL
