Anding Tunnel, the longest along the China-Laos Railway, designed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd. and constructed by China Railway No.5 Engineering Group Co., Ltd., was cut through on November 28, laying the foundation for the completion of the entire railway on schedule.

Construction of the 17,476-meter-long Anding Tunnel lasted four years. It is the longest of the 169 tunnels along the China-Laos Railway, as well as a key control project. Located in the Ailao Mountains featuring high peaks and deep valleys, the tunnel was very difficult to design and construct due to complicated topographical conditions.

So far, all tunnels of the Lao section of the China-Laos Railway have been dug through. With the completion of the Anding Tunnel, 86 of the railway’s 93 tunnels in China have been cut through.

The China-Laos Railway is a project aligning China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Laos’ vision of transforming from a landlocked to a land-linked country. After the completion of the railway, it is expected that passengers will be able to set out from Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan Province in the evening and reach Vientiane the next morning.