Cross-border railway between China, Myanmar stranded  

200亿美元中缅铁路项目搁浅

(ECNS) -- A plan for a cross-border railway between China and Myanmar, which was expected to be completed next year, has been stranded.

The two countries failed to implement the contract for an 810-kilometer railway between the Chinese city of Kunming and western Myanmar's Rakhine state within three years of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in April 2011.

The Global Times said on Tuesday, citing a senior official at Myanmar's Ministry of Rail Transportation, that the project will not be implemented due to objections from the public and social organizations in Myanmar, while China has not made any requests to renew the contract.

Under the MOU, China would earmark most of the $20-billion-investment for the railway's construction, and would have the right to manage and operate the railway for 50 years.

Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, said the planned line had significant strategic importance to China as an alternative to the Strait of Malacca as a route to Myanmar.

Furthermore, with the cross-border rail being part of the Trans-Asian Railway blueprint, its cancellation hinders the progress of the railway network across Europe and Asia, he added.

"Setting up projects in foreign countries comes with difficulties and uncertainties," Zhao told the National Business Daily.

After signing the MOU, China Railway Group Limited (China Railway) said they would take time to improve a preliminary scheme and prepare for a build-operate-ransfer (BOT) contract in the next stage. But it hadn't released any information about it since the MOU.

China Railway refused to comment on the report.