A team of Chinese experts arrived in Nepal to carry out the detailed feasibility study of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway.
A team of experts from China has arrived in Nepal to carry out the detailed feasibility study of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway today.
Aman Chitrakar, the senior divisional engineer and spokesperson at the Railway Department, informed that the feasibility study on the construction of the Kerung-Kathmandu railway will be expedited in collaboration with the Chinese experts team.
“Chinese railway expert team has arrived today,” Chitrakar told Nepalkhabar, “They will carry out the detailed feasibility assessment of the project in coordination with the Railway Department.”
The feasibility study which did not gain momentum in the past due to various reasons including COVID-19 will be carried out further in a detailed manner, said he.
The China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), which is under the State Council of China, coordinates development projects and aid with other countries.
Nepal and China have repeatedly agreed to carry out a feasibility study for the construction of a cross-border railway. However, the investment modality and technical aspects of the construction of the project are yet to be agreed upon.
China experts team arrives in Nepal (Photo: Chinese Embassy in Nepal/Twitter)
The Kerung-Kathmandu railway is one of the nine development projects proposed by Nepal with China to be built under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) concept. However, none of these projects have gained momentum.
The Kerung-Kathmandu Railway and 'Trans Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network' were also included in the joint statement issued after the Second Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in April 2019. President Bidya Devi Bhandari participated in the forum.
An agreement on the railway project was also reached during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Nepal in October 2019. He returned home with a promise that his country would help turn land-locked Nepal into a ‘land-linked country’ by boosting connectivity between the two countries. Since then, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the projects including the railway with Nepal have not been prioritized by China. Neither did Nepal care about it.
Last March, during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Nepal, Nepal and China signed an agreement on providing technical assistance for the feasibility study of the railway. Wang also said that he would provide grants for feasibility studies of the train.
After that, in the second week of last August, there was a discussion between the two countries about the construction of a cross-border railway. In a bilateral meeting between Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka and Wang Yi in Qingdao, Wang reiterated his commitment to grant funding for the railway's feasibility study. He also promised to send a team of Chinese experts. According to the agreement, the Chinese government agency CIDCA has written a letter to the Ministry of Finance.
There are many technical complications in building a railway between Nepal and China. It will cost billions of rupees to bring a train from Shigatse in Tibet to Nepal through high mountains and gorges.
It is estimated that the project will cost 200 million Yuan per kilometer, which is 209.6 million dollars.
China experts team arrives in Nepal (Photo: Chinese Embassy in Nepal/Twitter)
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