Asia Times: High hopes for railway on the roof of the world


	March 23, 2001	atimes.com

Special Reports

High hopes for railway on the roof of the world
By Tony Allison

The construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway will be the world's highest and longest, linking the southwest Tibet Autonomous Region with the rest of China, extending more than 1,118 kilometers on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

The official goal of the railway, extending from Lhasa in Tibet to Gormo in Qinghai province, is to further develop the economy of Tibet, which in turn is expected to benefit the other remote western parts of China. Poor infrastructure has held back growth in Tibet - most notably because it presently is the only region of China not to be linked to the national rail network.

Another clear reason for the railway is strategic. It will allow China to more easily maintain and serve the strong military presence it has in Tibet - which it has used as a buffer against India since it occupied the territory in 1950. Military convoys currently have to travel over 5,000-meter passes to supply the garrison which patrols China's border with India and enforces Beijing's rule in Tibet.

Nearly 100 billion renminbi (US$12.1 billion) will be invested in railway construction in western China during the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001 to 2005). By 2005, the railway network will be expanded from the present 16,000 km to 18,600 km.

Vice President Hu Jintao told Tibetan lawmakers recently that the railway development was the key to stability in the region. "Speeding up Tibet's development has a very important significance for improving the living conditions of people of all ethnic groups in Tibet and for strengthening national solidarity and safeguarding the unification of the motherland," he said.

It is projected that 2,600 km of railways will be built in the western regions in the next five years; 1,300 km of existing railways will be double-lined and 500 km of existing lines will be electrified. Besides the Tibetan project, another plan to boost the infrastructure of western China involves laying tracks along the ancient Silk Road from the Southern Xinjiang Railway across fearsome desert and mountain to former Soviet Central Asia. Yet another plan mirrors the Mekong River, down from Kunming through southern Yunnan, and into Indochina, then linking with existing networks to create a pan-Asian railway right down to Singapore.

Since 1994, Tibet's GDP growth has been 12.9 percent annually - exceeding China's average. But inadequate air and road connections are pushing up costs of materials for production and daily life, and have severely weakened the competitiveness of local enterprises and affected the confidence of investors.

The central government will bear all of the $2.5 billion expenses for building the railway, the Ministry of Railways (MOR) says. In a statement in March, it said, "The railway is a strategically important project. The government's investment in the railway shows its special concern for the development of western regions and for minorities."

The MOR admits construction will have a "devastating impact" on the surrounding ecological environment, but says it is seeking effective measures to minimize the negative effects. Critics also claim that the railway will allow Beijing to alter the demographics of the region by sending in ethnic Han Chinese settlers to balance the local population.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, at an average elevation of more than 4,000 meters, is the world's highest plateau and is commonly known as "the roof of the world". According to the current schedule, construction on the railway will be completed in six years.

Tourism experts say that construction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway will significantly boost tourism, one of Tibet's pillar industries. In 2000, more than 500,000 people visited the region, generating 620 million renminbi. The vast majority of them had to enter by air, which is expensive.

Tibet's feature industries include herbal medicines, agricultural and husbandry products and ethnic arts and crafts. Rail access will allow these products easier access to outside markets.

The autonomous regional government has already set up a special office to handle preparations for the railway project. The office will host regular coordination meetings involving departments of land- planning, construction material, taxes and finance A series of research projects will be launched to provide policies and regulations on the construction of the railway.

The reconnaissance and survey work on the construction are now under way. The local geological department invested 2 million renminbi in building a large-scale warehouse for heavy railway machinery. The transportation department has prepared 50 heavy traffic vehicles for railway construction.

Part 1: China's railways on the fast track (Mar 9)

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