On January 26, the Xishuangbanna Tunnel, a key control project on the Yuxi–Mohan section of the China-Laos Kunming–Vientiane Railway constructed with the participation of the Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd., was fully holed through, laying the foundation for the opening of the entire line to traffic this year.
The China-Laos Kunming–Vientiane Railway is an important part of the central line of the Pan-Asian Railway. It starts from Yuxi in Yunnan in the north and ends in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, in the south, with a total length of about 922 kilometers, including about 508 kilometers in China and about 414 kilometers in Laos. The Xishuangbanna Tunnel is located in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, with a total length of about 10.7 kilometers and a maximum buried depth of about 620 meters. The section contracted by the Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd. is about 6.5 kilometers long.
After the project is completed and opened to traffic, it will take only about 3 hours from Kunming, Yunnan to Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna, and it is expected to be possible to travel from Kunming to Vientiane, Laos overnight. The railway will become an important international corridor radiating to Southeast Asia and is of great significance for advancing connectivity between China and neighboring countries and promoting the building of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.