Aerial photo taken on Jan. 11, 2022 shows the construction site of the high-speed railway linking Nanning and Yulin of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.(Photo: Xinhua)

China-Southeast Asia railway projects have been making remarkable progress, with existing projects reaching milestones and new projects signed, helping boost local economies and interconnectivity in the region, according to companies and analysts on Tuesday.

China Railway Group said in a filing on Tuesday that the company and two of its subsidiaries have signed a contract with the Philippine Department of Transportation to design and construct the PNR South-Long Haul Project, Package 1, with the total contract amount reaching 17.55 billion yuan ($2.77 billion).

Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, pointed out that China's railway projects in Southeast Asia have been making progress and helping promote local economic development by diversifying exports, building local infrastructure and training talent. 

The management department of the East Coast Rail Link Project (ECRL) under China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) organized an in-person job fair with a local company in Kelantan, Malaysia.

It interviewed 583 applicants under a 5,000-member talent recruitment plan for the railway construction in Malaysia trained by CCCC's local teams, CCCC told the Global Times on Tuesday, as local teams have been ramping up efforts to complete the ECRL milestone project. 

Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said that the ECRL has reached a new milestone, with the 16.39-kilometer Selamat Datang Ke Genting Tunnel becoming the longest and most challenging project in Southeast Asia.

He said that Chinese contractors have the ability to complete the construction of the tunnel as well as the ECRL within the three-year set plan, China Media Group reported. In 2021, the construction of the ECRL was 26.49 percent complete. 

The construction of Chinese railway projects in Southeast Asia has been broadening trade methods for countries like Laos, with specialties now able to be transported to China and other countries through the China-Laos Railway, Xu said.
 
Thailand aims to export more of its products especially fresh fruits to China and Laos through the China-Laos Railway, while building closer ties with the two countries in trade and logistics, domestic news site cankaoxiaoxi.com reported on Tuesday.

Thai officials reportedly said that they will make efforts to approach both China and Laos to make full use of the China-Laos Railway to transport more products from Thailand. 

Xu added that the construction of industrial parks along the railway, while training local talent, will benefit regional economic development.

Global Times