Xi identified the project as a major step to facilitate Tibet’s government plan. (FILE)
Beijing:
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday called on officials to speed up construction of the new $ 47.8 billion railway project connecting southwest Sichuan Province to Linzhi in Tibet near the Indian border in the Arunachal Pradesh, saying it would play a key role in safeguarding stability in border areas.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway line to Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Project. It will cross the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the most geologically active areas in the world, according to official Chinese media.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway departs from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and crosses Ya’an and enters Tibet via Qamdo, shortening the route from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours.
Linzhi, also known as Nyingchi, is located close to the border of Arunachal Pradesh.
The border dispute between India and China relates to the effective 3,488 km line of control, the de facto border between the two countries. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, which India strongly rejects.
Linzhi also has an airport which is one of five airports built by China in the Himalayan region.
The Ya’an-Linzhi section covers 1011 km with 26 stations. Trains should run at speeds between 120 and 200 km / h. The total cost of the entire Sichuan-Tibet Railway project is around 319.8 billion yuan (47.8 billion USD), according to a recent report from the Global Times.
During a video conference, before construction of the project began, Xi identified it as a major step to facilitate the ruling Communist Party’s general plan to rule Tibet in the new era, and underlined the important role of the ruling Communist Party. project in safeguarding national unity, promoting ethnic solidarity and consolidating stability in border areas.
He gave the instruction on Sunday before construction began on the Ya’an-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will not only accelerate and strengthen the overall economic development of the Tibet region, but will play an important role in safeguarding border stability, the Global Times said.
The project would contribute significantly to the economic and social development of the western region, especially in Sichuan province and Tibet Autonomous Region, Xi said.
Highlighting the complex geological and climatic conditions, as well as the fragile ecological environment along the project line, he called for leveraging China’s advantage of concentrating resources to get things done to accomplish this historic task. , which is arduous but glorious.
Construction should be carried out in a scientific, safe and environmentally friendly manner, Xi said, apparently referring to the area’s fragility as it is one of the most seismically active regions in the world.
Speaking at the meeting, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed the priority given to the safety, reliability and quality of the project, and called for coordinated efforts to promote construction, epidemic prevention and the well -being of populations.
The 1,011 km section between Ya’an in Sichuan and NyingChi in Tibet is the third part of the Sichuan-Tibet railway, which will be carried out by the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
The Chengdu-Ya”an section of the project became operational in December 2018, and construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi section began in June 2015, the Xinhua report added.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
