Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday, 8 November, ordered his officials to speed up the construction of the new $47.8 billion railway project connecting the country’s southwest Sichuan province to Linzhi in Tibet close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh.
China has asserted that the project would play an important role in safeguarding stability in the border areas.
Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway in Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will pass through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world's most geologically active areas, reported Global Times.
As per reports, the project will take 10 years to complete.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will start from Chengdu to Lhasa and will shorten the journey from 48 hours to 13 hours. President Xi said that the project would promote the economic and social development of the western region, Global Times reported.
Linzhi, also known as Nyingchi, is located close to Arunachal Pradesh border.
Linzhi also has an airport which is one of the five airports built by China in the Himalayan region, PTI reported.
India and China have been engaged in a standoff along the Ladakh border for over six months now. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough and the deadlock continues. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of south Tibet, which is firmly rejected by India.
(With inputs from Globals Times and PTI)
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