Tunnel boring must start before rain, authorities

Lao authorities and Chinese developers are speeding works in an attempt to begin boring tunnels of the Laos-China railway project before the coming rainy season, a senior government official involved of the project has said. Tunneling is an important component of the 417 km railway that composes 75 tunnels with a combined length of 197.83km. The Lao authorities and Chinese developers met on Friday in Luang Prabang province to discuss ways to accelerate works, especially the import of machineries and equipment to be used in the project development. Chinese engineers warn that if boring work cannot begin before the rainy season, which will start in the next few months, it would delay the project as a whole.

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