BANGKOK, Nov 28, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - A new $6 billion Chinese-built railway
line opens in Laos this week, bringing hopes of an economic boost to the
reclusive nation, but experts are questioning the benefits of a project that
has seen thousands of farmers evicted from their land.

   The 414-kilometre (260-mile) route, due to open on December 3, took five
years to construct under China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative,
which funds infrastructure projects aimed at increasing Beijing's clout
globally.

   Struggling strawberry farmer Anouphon Phomhacsar is hoping the new railway
will get his business back on track.

   His farm usually produces up to two tonnes of the red heart-shaped fruits
a year, but the pandemic has hit the 2021 harvest hard.

   It currently takes Phomhacsar three to four hours to send his strawberries
to Vientiane by road, but he hopes the new railway will cut this delivery
time in half.

   And he says it will also be easier for tourists to travel to camp under
the stars and pick berries.

   "In the future, foreign tourists coming to the farm could be in the tens
of thousands," he told AFP.

   The train route will connect the Chinese city of Kunming to the Laos
capital, with grand plans for high-speed rail to ultimately snake down
through Thailand and Malaysia to Singapore.

   Infrastructure-poor Laos, a reclusive communist-run country of 7.2 million
people, previously had only four kilometres of railway tracks.

   But now sleek red, blue and white bullet trains will speed along the new
line at up to 160 kmh (100 mph), passing through 75 tunnels and across 167
bridges, stopping at 10 passenger stations.

   - Economic boost -

   Despite registering only dozens of Covid cases until April, Laos' economy
took a pandemic battering -- economic growth declined to 0.4 percent in 2020,
the lowest level in three decades, according to the World Bank.

   Hopes for a 2021 rebound were dashed -- Laos locked down as it clocked up
roughly 70,000 infections in the past eight months.

   And while the railway could boost tourism, freight and agriculture,
according to a World Bank report, the government needs to undertake
substantial reforms, including improving border clearance processes.

   "The new railway is a major investment that has the potential to stimulate
the Lao economy and allow the country to take advantage of its geographical
position at the heart of mainland Southeast Asia," Sombath Southivong, a
senior World Bank infrastructure specialist, told AFP.

   The tourism industry is desperate for a pick-me-up after the pandemic
caused an 80 percent downturn in international traveller numbers in 2020 --
4.7 million foreign tourists visited the previous year.

   Pre-pandemic young nomads crammed on to buses at Vientiane for the four-
hour ride to adventure capital Vang Vieng -- a journey that will now take
about an hour by train.

   The town, which has a former CIA airstrip, was notorious for backpackers

behaving badly at jungle parties before it re-branded as a eco-tourism
destination.

   But the kayaks, river rafts, ziplines and hot air balloons have been empty
of late.

   Inthira -- a boutique hotel nestled on the banks of the Nam Song River --
shifted from a full occupancy rate to only a trickle of domestic travellers
on weekends, says general manager Oscar Tality.

   Tality hopes the railway and reduced travel times will give the industry a
shot in the arm.

   "Along the way people will see magnificent views of the mountains and will
cross over bridges and tunnels. It will be a wonderful trip for those on the
train," Tality told AFP.

   - White elephant? -

   Despite local optimism, some Laos watchers are concerned about the long-
term viability of the project.

   "The issue for Laos though is whether their economy ... their private
sector is positioned to take advantage of this transport system," Australian
National University lecturer Greg Raymond told AFP.

   Two-thirds of Laotians live in rural villages toiling on the land, and the
minimum wage is around $116 a month -- a reported $13.30 train fare from
Vientiane to the border town of Boten has attracted some social media
criticism for being too expensive.

   "When you look at the juxtaposition of this super modern railway and the
countryside it is passing through - it's very stark. One does wonder whether
the Laos people will be the beneficiaries?" Raymond said.

   The project has already left some 4,400 farmers and villagers reeling
after they were forced to surrender land.

   Many have faced long delays receiving compensation or have been paid
inadequate amounts, the Lao Movement for Human Rights said in a report.

   "The compensation rate is very low. If you are asking villagers to move,
how can they afford new land?" Laotian MP Vilay Phommixay told parliament in
June last year.

   But for others it's all aboard.

   "There's great anticipation... there's a source of pride for the Laos
people," Tality said.