Workers prepare ground for Laos-China railway
The construction of workers’ camps for the Laos-China railway is under way in Luang Namtha province but there is much to be done before work on the railway itself can begin. There are now 200 or 300 Chinese workers in the camps, but they are unable to work on the railway as unexploded ordnance has not been cleared from the area. A provincial coordinator of the Laos-China project, Mr Chanthachone Keolakhone, told Vientiane Times they were waiting for UXO clearance by the Ministry of National Defence. Many workers come and tell us they want to work on railway construction, he said. Boten, Tinsan and Nateuy villages in Luang Namtha district are close to the construction site. People living in Nateuy village say they have seen a lot of cluster munitions, known in Laos as bombies, in their neighbourhood but not many in other places.
