October 22, 2019 | 16:51 (GMT+7)
Indonesian firm to build railway linking Laos with Vietnam
The Indonesia Railway Development Consortium (IRDC) is planning to build a railroad at a cost of Rp 28 trillion (USD 1.98 billion) connecting Laos with Vietnam.
The project is part of an agreement signed between the IRDC, Laos’ Petroleum Trading Lao Public Co. (Petrotrade), and Vietnam’s HT Investment Construction Management Co., Ltd. The deal was sealed during a bilateral meeting between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith in 2017.
The railway, designed to span 400km from Thakhaek district in Khammuan province of Laos to Vung Ang seaport in Vietnam’s Central province of Ha Tinh, is expected to be completed in 2.5 years.
The project will also support Indonesia’s coal exports to Laos as well as Laos’ potassium exports to Indonesia.
Another company from Indonesia, the State-owned train manufacturer INKA, has invested Rp 9 trillion in the project.
Source: VNA