High hopes for Laos-China rail

Farmers welcome link but critics doubt its use, write Lisa Martin and Pathom Sangwongwanich

Anew US$6 billion (202 billion baht) Chinese-built railway line will open in Laos this week, 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.

The 414-kilometre route, due to open on Dec 3, took five years to construct under China’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which funds infrastructure projects aimed at increasing Beijing’s clout globally.

Struggling strawberry farmer Anouphon Phomhacsar is hoping the new railway will get his business back on track.

His farm usually produces up to two tonnes of the fruits a year, but the pandemic has hit the 2021 harvest hard.

It currently takes Mr Phomhacsar three to four hours to send his strawberries to Vientiane by road, but he hopes the new railway will cut this delivery time in half.

And he says it will also be easier for tourists to travel to camp under the stars and pick berries.

“In the future, foreign tourists coming to the farm could be in the tens of thousands,” he said.

The train route will connect the Chinese city of Kunming to the Lao capital, with grand plans for high-speed rail to ultimately snake down through Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore.

Infrastructure-poor Laos, a reclusive communist-run country of 7.2 million people, previously had only four kilometres of railway tracks.

But now sleek red, blue and white bullet trains will speed along the new line at up to 160 kmh, passing through 75 tunnels and across 167 bridges, stopping at 10 passenger stations.

Despite registering only dozens of Covid cases until April, Laos’ economy took a pandemic battering — economic growth declined to 0.4% in last year, the lowest level in three decades, according to the World Bank.

Hopes for a rebound this year were dashed — Laos locked down as it clocked up roughly 70,000 infections in the past eight months.

And while the railway could boost tourism, freight and agriculture, according to a World Bank report, the government needs to undertake substantial reforms, including improving border clearance processes.

“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, said.

Despite local optimism, some Laos watchers are concerned about the longterm viability of the project.

Two-thirds of Laotians live in rural villages toiling on the land, and the minimum wage is around $116 a month — a reported $13.30 train fare from Vientiane to the border town of Boten has attracted some social media criticism for being too expensive.

“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?” Australian National University lecturer Greg Raymond said.

The project has already left some 4,400 farmers and villagers reeling after they were forced to surrender land.

Many who were affected have faced long delays in receiving compensation or have been paid inadequate amounts, the Lao Movement for Human Rights said in a report.