China-Laos railway power supply project launched in Lao capital

Representatives from China and Laos attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the power supply project for the China-Laos Railway in Vientiane, capital of Laos, Dec. 30, 2019. The power supply project for the China-Laos railway was kicked off in the Lao capital on Monday. The power supply project for the China-Laos railway is the first BOT (build-operate-transfer) power grid project in Laos, a key project to guarantee the scheduled operation of the China-Laos railway and of building the China-Laos community with a shared future. It is also a symbolic project of the Belt and Road Initiative to advance infrastructure connectivity. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

VIENTIANE, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The power supply project for the China-Laos railway was kicked off in the Lao capital on Monday.

The power supply project for the China-Laos railway is the first BOT (build-operate-transfer) power grid project in Laos, a key project to guarantee the scheduled operation of the China-Laos railway and of building the China-Laos community with a shared future. It is also a symbolic project of the Belt and Road Initiative to advance infrastructure connectivity.

The project, running along the China-Laos railway through five provincial administrative regions in northern Laos, will build 20 circuits of 115kV transmission lines with total length of 268 km and extend 11 bays in 10 substations, in order to supply power from the state-run Electricite du Laos' grid to 10 railway traction substations.

Laos-China Power Investment Company, co-sponsored by China Southern Power Grid (CSG) and the EDL, was established in November in Vientiane to invest, construct and operate the power supply project.

The CSG told Xinhua on Monday that in order to guarantee the scheduled operation of the China-Laos railway in December of 2021, the project is required to be completed by the end of March 2021.

The CSG side also said, the company will strictly follow construction standards, assure project safety and quality, undertake social responsibilities, and strive to build the project into a perfect project and a demonstration project for future power grid BOT projects in Laos.

The China-Laos Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The 414.332-km railway, with 198-km tunnels and 62-km bridges, will run from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km per hour.

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.

The project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic in December 2021.