VIENTIANE, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The construction of China-Laos railway has been in full swing, while the Chinese companies involved are gearing up for the peak construction period during the dry season in Laos.
While paying an inspection visit on Monday to the Mekong River peninsula in northern Laos' Luang Prabang, where construction conditions are harsh, General Manager of China Railway International Co., Ltd and Chairman of Laos-China Railway Company Huang Difu requested Chinese units to overcome difficulties, speed up construction of bridges, tunnels and roads at the section, and strengthen the construction of sidewalk reinforcement to ensure a smooth progress during the rainy season.
China Railway No. 2 Group Co., Ltd, which is responsible for construction of the northernmost and southernmost sections of China-Laos railway, held a site meeting Tuesday in the Lao capital of Vientiane for dry season construction.
General Manager of China Railway No. 2 Group Wang Guangzhong exhorted the company staff to join the campaign in the coming nine months of dry season for peak construction.
Wang asked his staff to take advantage of the dry season to fulfill all the set tasks to lay foundation for high-quality construction of the China-Laos railway in a timely manner.
The Lao climate is mainly tropical with dry and rainy seasons. Rainy season runs from May to October. China Railway Group Limited, Power Construction Corporation of China and other units participating in construction of the railway are mobilizing forces for the prepartion of dry season construction.
The construction of China-Laos railway started on Dec. 25, 2016 in the northern Lao province of Luang Prabang. The Laos-China railway company on March 31 launched a campaign of "a 100-day of dry season working competition."
At a gathering held Sunday in Vientiane to commend the progress achieved so far in the project, the company announced that the China-Laos railway project has entered the phase of comprehensive construction in an orderly and effective way.
According to Zhao Xiang, director general of the Laos-China Railway Company, since the launching of the competition, construction units of the project have overcome various difficulties to actively promote the implementation of the project.
In less than six months, site preparation has been completed for the construction of four stations; foundation construction of nine bridge piles have finished; 86 holes for construction of 46 tunnels have been drilled, of which 15 are key tunnels.
Lattanamany Khounnyvong, Lao vice minister for public works and transport and team leader of the railway project working group, said the campaign showed friendship of the construction units to the Lao people and their support to the project.
As an important project under the Belt and Road initiative, it will benefit peoples of the two countries and promote interconnectivity between China and Southeast Asia, Lattanamany added.
Meanwhile, General Manager Huang said many Lao government leaders after inspection visits to construction sites expressed satisfaction with the achievement of the railway construction.
He emphasized that since the railway runs along the scenic spots of Laos including world cultural heritage protection area, the construction units will make efforts to minimize the impact of construction on the environment and protect the beautiful scenery of Laos.
The 414-kim China-Laos railway links Mohan-Boten border gate in northern Laos and Vientiane with some 62.7 percent of its tracks on bridges or in tunnels. Operating speed of the railway is designed at 160 km per hour.
The cross-border railway is scheduled to be completed in five years with a total investment of some 40 billion Chinese yuan (5.8 billion U.S. dollars).
