Rail link project to get a boost<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AP): A century-old scheme to build a railroad
\nlinking Southeast Asia with China - and eventually Europe - will
\nreceive a strong boost at a meeting of regional leaders here, a
\ntop official said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"The summit will adopt a route,\" Malaysia's Foreign Minister
\nSyed Hamid Albar said. \"Then we will move forward from that.\"<\/p>\n
The railroad, first proposed by Malaysian Prime Minister
\nMahathir Mohamad in 1995, would snake through five of the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations' 10 member states and
\nwould have branches connecting it to two more.<\/p>\n
The scheme, which would cost at least US$2 billion and take a
\ndecade to complete, also has received strong backing from China.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, which was given a coordinating role in the massive
\nundertaking, has financed a feasibility study that was
\ntentatively approved by ASEAN transport ministers at their
\nmeeting in Hanoi in September.<\/p>\n
ASEAN officials say they expect the project to help promote
\neconomic development, trade and tourism throughout Southeast
\nAsia.<\/p>\n
The network would also help promote a sense of kinship among
\nthe peoples of the region, who have historically been isolated
\nfrom each other due to poor transportation links.<\/p>\n
\"There is a desire to create an ASEAN identity,\" Syed Hamid
\ntold reporters.<\/p>\n
The proposals envisage a railway linking Singapore and the
\nresort city of Kunming in southern China. It would be between
\n4,500 and 5,500 kilometers long (2,800 to 3,400 miles), depending
\non the routing adopted.<\/p>\n
The works would include upgrades to existing tracks and
\nsignaling equipment, as well as construction of new sections on
\nthe line leading from Singapore and passing through Kuala Lumpur,
\nBangkok, and the Mekong basin.<\/p>\n
At Kunming, the line would link up with China's state rail
\nnetwork, eventually connecting to the Trans-Siberian Railroad.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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