VIENTIANE, LAOS — China has already begun building a railroad that would connect Laos' capital, Vientiane, to China's Yunnan province but the construction has sparked fear of debt among Laotians.<br /><br />According to a statement published on China's Belt and Road Initiative official page, the China-Laos Railway will measure 414 kilometers, connecting Vientiane and China's Yunnan province.<br /><br />It is designed for trains to travel at 160 kilometers per hour, making it possible to travel from Yunnan to Vientiane in just 3 hours. The railway is expected to be fully operational in December 2021.<br /><br />The project is part of the Belt and Road Initiative, a Chinese development strategy involving infrastructure development and investment in 152 countries. <br /><br />According to an NPR report, the total cost of building the high-speed railroad is $6 billion, of which China will pay 70 percent. The Laotian government will finance the rest of the project through loans from Chinese financial institutions.
