The railway running into Thanaleng dry port in Vientiane. - VT
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): Authorities are preparing to connect the Laos-China railway from Vientiane South station to the Thanaleng Dry Port, so that goods can be transported using the railway by the end of June.
From the time of its official opening on Dec 4, 2021 to April 2022, Thanaleng Dry Port has provided 11,000 Lao-Chinese freight services.
The managing director of Thanaleng Dry Port, Sakhone Philangam, said that of the 11,000 freight containers, 80 per cent carried goods in transit from China through Laos to Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
Most of the goods shipped comprised electronic components and appliances, fertiliser, garments, and textiles.
The remainder of the freight shipped was from Laos and Thailand to China, with goods exported from Laos consisting of iron ore, cassava starch, rubber, timber and minerals. Most of the Thai goods exported using the railway comprised rice, timber and rubber.
To make freight transport more convenient, Thabok Thanaleng Co., Ltd. has invested in the construction of a 1.2km rail track from the Laos-Thai railway to Thabok Thanaleng, while the Laos-China Railway Co Ltd. is investing in the construction of a railway from Vientiane South station to Thanaleng over a distance of 2.8km.
The two planned rail tracks will be completed and the Laos-China railway link from Vientiane South station to Thanaleng Dry Port will open for service on June 26.
This will become a port of departure at Thanaleng Dry Port with different track widths at Thanaleng, because the Laos-China railway has a track gauge of 1.435m while the Thai rail track is one metre wide.
However, the Laos-China railway connection to Vientiane South station to the Thanaleng Dry Port is for freight only.
In the past, the Laos-China railway ended at Vientiane South station from where trucks carried freight to Thanaleng Dry Port for transport to Thailand and beyond.
When the new rail track is completed, it will enable easier and faster transport of goods through Thanaleng from China to Thailand, from Thailand to China, from China to other countries and from other countries to China.
