Laos Joins China-Thailand Highway Project

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, October 11, 2002

Laos Joins China-Thailand Highway Project

Laos has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for joining a regional highway project which will link China and Thailand via Laos, Thailand's state-owned radio reported Friday.

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Laos has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for joining a regional highway project which will link China and Thailand via Laos, Thailand's state-owned radio reported Friday.

Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak was quoted as saying that his Lao counterpart Sukan Maharat inked the document for the highway project prepared by Thailand and China during his trip here earlier this week.

The highway, will lead from Thailand's northernmost province of Chiang Rai through Lao provinces of Bokeo and Luang Namtha and end in Kunming, capital of China's Yunnan Province. It will be about 700 km long, with 85 km in Thailand, 228 km in Laos and the rest in China, Somkid said. The construction will begin early next year and the new road is expected to open to traffic within five years. It will be the first highway linking the three countries.

"The highway will open a new trade route into southern China, which will boost Thai exports to China, as well as assist the economic development for Laos," said Somkid.

The highway will also stimulate cross-border trade between Laos and Thailand and provide a future trade artery for other Southeast Asian nations, he said.

According to Thai officials, the Lao part of the highway will be financed by the Asia Development Bank (ADB) and the Chinese government while Thailand and China will take care of their own parts of the road.

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