VIENTIANE, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) — As the signature China-aided railway is declared operational on Friday, millions of Laos are celebrating as their dreams come true with opportunities created by the rail project that links the landlocked Asian country with China and the rest of the world.
The China-Laos Railway, with a length of 1,035 km, runs from the Lao capital Vientiane to Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province on a 10-hour trip.
The cross-border electric passenger and freight railway, whose full-swing construction began in 2016, opens a new chapter for Laos, a country that once had virtually no rail infrastructure.
It is a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos’ strategy to convert the landlocked country into a land-linked hub, leading the country to the massive markets of its neighboring countries, including China and other Southeast Asian nations.
GAME-CHANGER RAILROAD TO BOOST LAO ECONOMY
The Chinese-built railway becomes a…