Chinese Government signs for grant for the Muse-Mandalay High-Speed Railway Project

On October 22, 2018, two state-owned companies, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (CREEG) (formerly the China Railway Group Ltd.) and Myanmar Railways signed a memorandum of understanding to begin the study on a proposed rail line from Muse to Mandalay (MOU is known as "中缅签署木姐−曼德勒铁路项目可行性研究备忘录"). In April 2019, during the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (CREEG) handed over the Feasibility Study Report (Technical Part) of the Muse-Mandalay Railway to the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Myanmar. The managing director of Myanmar Railways U Ba Myint said in a press conference in Naypyitaw that the construction of the railway will cost $8.9 billion according to the study; however, the amount of Chinese financing provided for this project is unknown. On January 18, 2020, the environmental evaluation part was handed over, and the feasibility evaluation was completed. The current status of the project is unknown. As of June 2020, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (CREEG) has applied to conduct feasibility studies for a railway between Mandalay and Kyaukphyu, Myanmar, which is part of the larger Muse-Mandalay Railway. The Muse-Mandalay-Kyaukphyu railway project is two proposed railways that make up the Myanmar section of the China-Myanmar railway. The two sections in Myanmar are Muse to Mandalay, and Mandalay and Kyaukphyu. As one of the flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the Muse-Mandalay Railway passes through the important town and economic center of northern Myanmar. It has a total length of 431 kilometers (268 miles) and a design speed of 160 km/h. The Mandalay-Muse railway project will connect with the Chinese rail network at the border town of Ruili in Yunnan province. It is expected to be a key part of the economic corridor. The economic corridor spans 1,700km – from Kunming to Mandalay, then east to Yangon and west to the Kyaukpyu special economic zone in Rakhine state, where China wants to build a deep water port and where it already has a cross-border oil pipeline.

Number of official sources

2

Number of total sources

13