(KPL) Laos-China Railway Company celebrated on Dec 3 the first anniversary of its operation of the Laos-China railway in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, other leading Party and government officials, and representatives of relevant authorities of Laos and China.     

Delivering remarks at the celebration in Vientiane, Mr. Zhu Kozhiang, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Laos-China Railway Company said that Laos-China railway has carried about 1.26 million passengers and 1.99 million tonnes of goods including 1.57 million tonnes of cross-border freight. The railway has also contributed to the socio-economic development in Laos.

The railway and its related services have created jobs for 100,000 Lao people.

Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone

The company always considers the safety of passengers as its top priority with great attention attached to the inspection and maintenance of the railway infrastructure, developing security systems along the railway, improving emergency response mechanisms to ensure the safety of the Laos-China railway transport.

Deputy Prime Minister Sonexay said that the Laos – China railway is a strategic connectivity project of Laos and China “Turning Landlocked Laos into a Land-linked Country” and a flagship project of China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative. It is a symbol of the friendship between Laos and China.

Today, the Laos-China railway has become the pride of the Lao PDR and its people.

This railway connects Laos with a transport network with an access to the sea. Meanwhile, other countries in the region will enjoy easy means of passenger and freight transport. The railway will also promote investment and bring more tourists to the Lao PDR.

The railway has changed the face of the Lao PDR's transport, realizing its ambition of "turning from a landlocked country into a land-link one", ushering a new era of Laos-China railway transport, and raising the reputation of Lao PDR in the international arena.

Mr. Zhu Kozhiang, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Laos-China Railway Company

In the past, Laos had only a 3.5 km rail track and ranked 149^th in the world in terms of rail distance per capita, but now it ranks 28^th globally and first among ASEAN countries.

The railway is an important part of Lao and Chinese Party and government leaders’ desire to spur development of the “Belt and Road” Initiative and is a symbol of Laos-China friendship and the two countries’ progress in bolstering development, friendship and prosperity.

Over the past year, the railway has created wealth and opportunities for people in the two countries, provided a safe means of travel, and increasingly won strong support from the two governments of Laos and China.

The EMU train "Lane Xang" has become the new face of Laos. Tourism, agriculture, mining industry and urbanization have been developed along the railway, and young talents have been excited to contribute to the construction, operation and maintenance of the railway and this sows good seeds of industrialization and modernization in the Lao PDR.

KPL