BANGKOK: A new US$6 billion Chinese-built railway line opens in Laos on Friday , bringing hopes of an economic boost to the reclusive nation, but experts are questioning the benefits of a project that has seen thousands of farmers evicted from their land.
His farm usually produces up to two tonnes of the red heart-shaped fruits a year, but the pandemic has hit the 2021 harvest hard. But now sleek red, blue and white bullet trains will speed along the new line at up to 160kmh, passing through 75 tunnels and across 167 bridges, stopping at 10 passenger stations.Despite registering only dozens of COVID-19 cases until April, Laos' economy took a pandemic battering - economic growth declined to 0.4 per cent in 2020, the lowest level in three decades, according to the World Bank.
"The new railway is a major investment that has the potential to stimulate the Lao economy and allow the country to take advantage of its geographical position at the heart of mainland Southeast Asia," Sombath Southivong, a senior World Bank infrastructure specialist, told AFP.Laos' tourist industry is hoping for a boost from the railway, which will drastically cut travel times.
The town, which has a former Central Intelligence Agency airstrip, was notorious for backpackers behaving badly at jungle parties before it rebranded as an eco-tourism destination.Inthira - a boutique hotel nestled on the banks of the Nam Song River - shifted from a full occupancy rate to only a trickle of domestic travellers on weekends, says general manager Oscar Tality."Along the way people will see magnificent views of the mountains and will cross over bridges and tunnels.
"When you look at the juxtaposition of this super modern railway and the countryside it is passing through - it's very stark. One does wonder whether the Laos people will be the beneficiaries?" Raymond said.
Good luck laos
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