VIENTIANE — The signing ceremony of an MoU on feasibility study on the Chinese government’s assistance to the Lao railway vocational technical college project was held in Lao capital Vientiane on Sept 4.

The documents were signed by Wang Qihui, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese embassy in Laos, and Kongsy Sengmany, deputy minister of education and sports of Laos.

The project plans to help Laos build a full-time higher vocational technical college in Vientiane to train professional railway talents for Laos.

The China-Laos railway, a key interconnectivity project, started construction in 2016. Since then, the building of tunnels, bridges, roadbeds and other sections has progressed smoothly along the route.

The China-Laos railway links Mohan-Boten border gate in northern Laos with the capital of Vientiane. About 60 percent of the 414-km railway are bridges and tunnels.

The operating speed of trains on the route is designed to be 160 km per hour. The railway is expected to be fully operational in December 2021.