Tibet's new railway to extend to border
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-28 09:17
China's newly-built railway to Tibet will be extended to the border between
China and Nepal, a local official said on Sunday.
Meeting with visiting
Nepali Deputy Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the
government of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said Tibet is a remote place that is
looking forward to being connected to south Asia. The railway extension will
promote business exchanges, he said.
Oli said Nepal hopes China can
extend the railway to the border.
China and Nepal have more than 1400 km
of border and five open border crossings.
Nyalam, in Xigaze prefecture,
is the only border crossing that boasts a highway. The Xigaze prefecture borders
India, Nepal and Bhutan in the south.
According to current plans, a
branch line will be built next year from Lhasa to Xigaze, the region's second
largest city located at an altitude of about 3,800 meters and some 270 km from
Lhasa. The project is expected to take three years.
The Qinghai-Tibet
Railway, which stretches 1,956 kilometers from Xining, capital of Qinghai
Province, to Lhasa, was completed in July.
The city of Xigaze is the
traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, and the prefecture is also an important
production base for Tibetan agriculture and animal husbandry.
Oli, who
is also minister of foreign affairs, arrived in Lhasa Saturday for a eight-day
official visit to China.
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