Construction work on the Yuxi-Boten railway tunnel linking China and Laos was started on June 22, 2016. The cross-border tunnel is 9.68 km long, of which 7.17 km lies in China and 2.51 km in Laos. The planned construction period of the Yuxi-Boten tunnel is 56 months. The railway tunnel is a part of the Boten-Vientiane railway line, which is 418 km long. The two countries have agreed to use Chinese technology and equipment to build the railway line connecting Kunming, capital of south-western China’s Yunnan province, with Laos. The line will start in Kunming and travel southward to Jinghong and Mohan till it enters Laos through the Lao border city of Boten. It will then travel past Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng before arriving in Vientiane. The railway line’s average speed is set at 160 km per hour and 60 per cent of the line will comprise bridges and tunnels. China will be responsible for 70 per cent of the $6.27 billion investment, while Laos will be responsible for the remainder.
