A 7.5-kilometer-long bridge is under construction in Vientiane, Laos. Photo: Sun Guangyong/People's Daily

Vientiane (People's Daily) - Built by a Chinese company, the under-construction railway that connects Laos’ northern border town Boten with capital Vientiane will bring prosperity to the country, said a senior Lao official on Monday.

“As a Chinese saying puts it, ‘Build the roads first if you want to prosper’. What now in Lao people’s mind is to build railways and the China-Laos railway is our way to prosperity,” said Vichit Xindavong, an assistant minister of Laos Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The Boten-Vientiane railway program is part of the China-Laos railway project, with the China part, about 91 kilometers, links Yunnan Province’s Yuxi with Mohan – the Chinese city which borders Boten of Laos.

A tunnel on the China-Laos railway is under construction. Photo: Coutesy of China Railway

Launched in December 2015, the 414-kilometer-long China-Laos railway is expected to be open to traffic in December 2021.

About 80 percent of Lao territory are mountains and plateaus, which make the transportation rather inconvenient in the country.

“Many parts of the China-Laos railway are groundbreaking and of exemplary significance for Laos,” said an official from the China Railway company, who is supervising the project.

The railway program is a part of the key projects under the Belt and Road initiative.

(Edited by Lu Wen'ao)