“Work resumes on China-Laos railway: Full steam ahead for Beijing’s Belt and Road?”, 17 May 2020

While many across Southeast Asia have seen their jobs disappear and economies are on hold, work has resumed on the new China-Laos railway after stopping for just 23 days…

The railway offers one example of how Beijing is pushing ahead with BRI projects during the global pandemic and what this means for the people whose land and resources are impacted by Beijing’s network of roads, dams and railways. As China’s economy begins to restart but host countries remain largely shut down, Chinese developers are setting the agenda for these multi-billion dollar projects and shaping the future of local residents and national economies.

In Laos, this means local residents will see even fewer benefits from the railway project while the country takes on more debt despite an uncertain economic future. The pandemic has illustrated just how crucial it is for countries to pursue sustainable, resilient growth, but the China-Laos railway never sought the consent, much less the input, of impacted communities…

So far, local communities have received minimal compensation for land the government has seized for the railway or for pollution that has damaged their water sources. The Lao government has promised compensation, as mandated under domestic law, to over 4,000 families who have been pushed off their land to make room for the railway. According to the latest media reports, only a few hundred families have received any compensation…

But while construction on the project has resumed, few Lao workers appear to be benefiting. The majority of the workers on the China-Lao railway are Chinese… though both governments made promises that the railway would bring a wave of good jobs for local residents.

Of the Lao workers who are still employed on the railway, many may be going without pay. Soon after construction resumed on the railway, 30 Lao workers came forward and said they had not been paid in three to four months, according to Radio Free Asia…

The allegations are especially significant as the workers face major risks in speaking with the media, given the repressive policies of both the Lao and Chinese governments towards dissent, and the problem may be much more widespread…

The pandemic has also thrown the future of financing for BRI projects into question…

With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic still evolving, the risk posed by this ballooning debt is only increasing. There has been no news from either government on renegotiating the financing for the project…

[Also referred to Export Import Bank of China]