"As first Chinese high-speed train reaches Laos, villagers demand overdue compensation", 19 October 2021

The first bullet train to serve the Laos-China high-speed railway was delivered to the Lao capital Vientiane at the weekend, but six weeks before the line is set to open, villagers who lost land to the project say they are still waiting for promised compensation. [...]

In the Hatxayphong district of Vientiane, nearly 100 families living were promised two years ago they would be paid for their land, and a district official told them they finally would be paid this September, residents told RFA in an earlier report.

At the time, the displaced residents of Dong Phosy and Dong Phonhae villages also complained that the 105,000 kip (U.S. $11) per square meter promised to them for the lost land was below the land’s real value.

Villagers from Hatxayphong district told RFA on Monday that they fear they may never receive the money owed to them. [...]

When asked about the compensation, a Hatxayphong district official said he had no further information. [...]