ASEAN countries and China will hold a high-profile seminar before the end of the year to lure private investments for a US$2 billion railway project linking Singapore to southern China

ASEAN, China Seek $2B for Railway
Monday August 27, 5:18 am ET
By Teresa Cerojano, Associated Press Writer
ASEAN, China Seeks $2 Billion in Private Investment for Railway
Project Linking 8 Countries


MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Southeast Asian countries and China will
hold a high-profile seminar before the end of the year to lure private
investments for a US$2 billion (euro1.46 billion) railway project
linking Singapore to southern China to facilitate the flow of goods
and people across the region, officials said Monday.

The Singapore-Kunming Rail Link project aims to construct or upgrade
550 kilometers (342 miles) of "missing links" in a 7,000 kilometer
(4,350 miles) circular rail connecting China and seven of the 10
member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The whole loop, including domestic railways that will be paid for by
individual countries' governments, is estimated to cost at least US$10
billion dollars (euro7.3 billion), ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng
Yong told reporters.

He said earlier that overall progress of the project has been hindered
by a lack of funds and other technical issues in connecting the
railroad to major towns across the region.

No completion date has been set but officials were hoping to have some
connection ready by the time the regional bloc fuses into an ASEAN
Economic Community by 2015, he said.

Ministers and officials of ASEAN and China welcomed the proposed high
profile seminar to attract potential investors to the project in a
joint statement after their ASEAN-Mekong Basin Development Cooperation
meeting in Manila Monday.

Ong said officials hope to hold the seminar before the end of the
year, after an October investment roadshow for ASEAN and the Mekong
Basin spearheaded by ASEAN finance ministers.

"We need to find funding to cover that missing link," he added. "We
are hopeful that the seminar for the SKRL will attract private sector
interest particularly the banks and the fund management entities."

Ong said trains are the cheapest mode of transporting goods across
borders and will facilitate travel and exchange of people-to-people
contacts. Once the infrastructure is done, easing of travel
restrictions like visa requirements will also be tackled to contribute
to a free flow of people across the eight countries, he added.

At Monday's meeting, implementation of 45 projects in the Mekong Basin
-- a region that includes parts of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam,
Thailand and China -- was also reviewed.

Philippine Trade Secretary Peter Favila, who chaired the meeting, said
there are 45 projects worth a total of US$55.7 million (euro40.7
million) for the Mekong Basin development. Close to US$10 million
(euro7.3 million) have been sourced from country contributions but US
$44 million (euro32.2 million) more are needed to fund 14 more
projects aside from the railway venture.

Officials agreed to further review how to synchronize various
activities in the ASEAN Mekong Basin Development Cooperation framework
with the ASEAN Economic Community, Ong said.

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