{"id":20098881,"date":"2022-09-07T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=98881"},"modified":"2022-09-22T15:54:44","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T10:24:44","slug":"nepal-china-take-step-towards-one-of-worlds-toughest-railways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/nepal-china-take-step-towards-one-of-worlds-toughest-railways\/","title":{"rendered":"Nepal and China take step towards one of \u2018world\u2019s toughest railways\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 10 August, China announced that within a year it will start a feasibility study for the ambitious Tibet-Nepal Railway project. The announcement, which came during Nepal foreign minister Narayan Khadka\u2019s visit to China, also revealed<\/a> that China will pay for the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed 170-kilometre railway, part of the Belt and Road Initiative<\/a> (BRI), will link Kerung in southern Tibet to Nepal\u2019s capital Kathmandu, entering Nepal in Rasuwa district. The plan is to eventually extend the railway to India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People familiar with the matter told The Third Pole that building the railway from Kerung to Kathmandu would cost about 38 billion yuan (USD 5.5 billion), almost equal to total government revenues for the country in 2018. Although only one-third of the total length falls on the Nepal side, this stretch would account for almost half of the costs due to the difficult geology and climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nepal<\/div>
The proposed route of the Tibet-Nepal railway, which will link Kathmandu to Tibet \u2022 Map by The Third Pole<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The estimated cost of the feasibility study has not been made public, but China has announced that it will provide RMB 800 million (USD 118 million) to Nepal in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts say this could be a defining move for the Tibet-Nepal Railway, which has been on hold for years with Nepal reluctant to fund the study and China reticent about funding it. \u201cThe feasibility study will do two important things: first it will determine the route, including ground and bridge proportion. And second, [it will determine] the type of railway that needs to be built \u2013 high speed or slow,\u201d said Paribesh Parajuli, an engineer who worked as a consultant at the Department of Railways<\/a> until 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late 2018, China prepared a pre-feasibility study of the railway for Nepal. It estimated the cost of the 72.5 km section in Nepal at USD 2.75 billion. The report<\/a>, which is not yet publicly available, suggested it was an extremely difficult project, but not impossible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTechnically this will be one of the world\u2019s toughest railways to construct as it needs to cross the lofty and fragile Himalayan range, but with China\u2019s technological prowess it is possible as they have already built railways in higher altitudes in Tibet than the proposed Nepal-China railway,\u201d said Aman Chitrakar, spokesperson for Nepal\u2019s Department of Railways. He added that the pre-feasibility study was carried out just by a Chinese team as Nepal lacks capacity to carry out any technical works on railways. The same will happen with the feasibility study. \u201cIt\u2019s their money and their expertise will be key, but we hope to be consulted during the study,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/div>
The first passenger train from Lhasa to Xigaze heads into Xigaze railway station, in southwest China, in August 2014. If built, the Tibet-Nepal Railway will link Kathmandu to Xigaze. (Image: Liu Kun \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But some worry about Nepal\u2019s lack of ability to even review technical reports as it does not have railway engineers. The department established a decade ago is dominated by road engineers. \u201cIt was OK to rely fully on the Chinese for a pre-feasibility study as it was more of a kind of survey, but the feasibility study is a key project document if it\u2019s going to be implemented, and Nepal must have serious eyes on it,\u201d said Paribesh Parajuli, who is among handful of railways engineers in the country \u2013\u00a0none of whom work for the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nepal, which built its first railway in 1927 near its border with India, had no railway department until 2011 and is yet to hire railway engineers to staff the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018 \u2013 the same year as the pre-feasibility study \u2013 the Nepal Department of Railways and China Railway signed a memorandum of understanding to foster cooperation, according to Chitrakar. But the Department of Railways was not informed by its own foreign ministry about any developments during China\u2019s foreign minister Wang Yi\u2019s visit in March and Nepal\u2019s foreign minister\u2019s visit in August. \u201cWe heard that our government had signed a memorandum of understanding on technical schemes of the railway project during Wang Yi\u2019s visit in March and now media reports have said a feasibility study will be carried out, but as an implementing agency we haven\u2019t been informed about any developments that were made in the recent months,\u201d said Chitrakar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geopolitics over geology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Tibet-Nepal Railway project has deep roots. In 2020, China\u2019s former ambassador to Nepal Qiu Guohong wrote<\/a> in a Nepali newspaper: \u201cOur great leader Mao Zedong was the one who sowed the seeds of the Nepal-China railway dream. During Nepal\u2019s late King Birendra Shah\u2019s visit to China in 1973, Mao had mentioned Qinghai Tibet railway. Even during that time Mao had thought about linking Tibet railway to Kathmandu in Nepal as he was a visionary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016, China signed a transit and transport agreement<\/a> with Nepal when KP Oli, Nepal\u2019s former prime minister, visited China in the aftermath of a trade blockade imposed by India because New Delhi disagreed<\/a> with some clauses in Nepal\u2019s new constitution<\/a>. Two years later, the railway was a key agenda item when China\u2019s President Xi Jinping visited Nepal. This March, China\u2019s foreign minister Wang Yi visited Nepal to reiterate China\u2019s interest in the railway project and four months later made the announcement in support of the feasibility study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor several reasons, India has been suspicious and over-sensitive over the China-Nepal railway, but it is both China and Nepal\u2019s responsibility to convince India on the railway\u2019s importance to link India and China and its mutual benefit for the region as Nepal is at best a geography that links mainland China and the South Asian subcontinent. So, if we can connect China\u2019s railway network with India\u2019s railway network then this could be an important transit point for the region,\u201d former ambassador Qiu wrote in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike Nepal, India is not a BRI host country. \u201cGreater Chinese influence in Nepal is not a bilateral or regional issue but a global one,\u201d said Constantino Xavier, fellow in foreign policy and security studies at think tank the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, speaking at a recent webinar organised by the New Delhi-based Institute of Chinese Studies<\/a>. \u201cIndia should be able to calculate its relations with global powers rather than just looking to Nepal-China relations or China\u2019s presence in Nepal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent weeks, the cross-border railway project has been covered by Chinese media and elicited responses on Chinese social media. It has been cited as an important geopolitical project that China may use according to its needs. A commentary piece<\/a> published by Caijing Magazine\u2019s WeChat channel suggested that a rail link through Nepal to India could both \u201cenhance China-India economic bonds when geopolitical tensions are at ease\u201d and \u201cincrease China\u2019s strategic manoeuvring space when tensions are on the rise\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No mention of Tibet-Nepal Railway\u2019s ecological impacts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ecological impacts of the proposed rail line are not being discussed in Nepal \u2013 and nothing has been said about what China\u2019s 2021 green development guidelines<\/a> might mean for the project. Some experts say this is due to the Nepali government’s inability to work with the Chinese team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny trans-Himalayan project of this scale will have serious environmental impacts and there should be more concern around the fragile geology of the region. This railway will pass through the main central thrust<\/a> \u2013 a geologically weak zone in the Himalayas \u2013 and it\u2019s important to use technical knowledge of geologists and other experts to minimise its environmental impacts. But it\u2019s sad that no efforts towards this have been made,\u201d Basanta Raj Adhikari, deputy director of the Centre for Disaster Studies<\/a> at the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, told The Third Pole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This railway will pass through the main central thrust \u2013 a geologically weak zone in the Himalayas<\/blockquote>Basanta Raj Adhikari, Centre for Disaster Studies at Tribhuvan University<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In China, some concerns have been expressed over the ecological impacts of the railway. \u201cAt a time when we are enduring extreme heat, many are concerned with the railway\u2019s ecological impact on the world\u2019s water tower,\u201d says one comment on Caijing Magazine\u2019s WeChat channel. \u201cRailway maintenance is going to be very challenging in the Himalaya region. International relationships also depend on how we choose to act. Be cautious,\u201d says another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promises for future, but uncertainties at ground level<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese government is encouraging<\/a> Nepal to export more to China. From 1 September, 98% of Nepali products were eligible for zero-tariff export to China. \u201cThis will support the Nepalese side to make good use of this policy dividend to expand exports to China,\u201d said a communique after the meeting of the two foreign ministers in Qingdao last August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nepal imported<\/a> goods worth 211 billion Nepali rupees (USD 1.7 billion) from China between mid-July 2021 and mid-April 2022, according to Nepal\u2019s Department of Customs. In contrast, Nepal\u2019s exports to China were 622 million Nepali rupees (USD 5 million) in this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

Chinese media has expressed hope that Nepal can export more. \u201cThe cross-border railway project, if eventually built, would surely augur well for Nepal\u2019s economy, as the landlocked country\u2019s transport connectivity with China currently relies on a few land ports that can\u2019t operate amid heavy snow or geologic disasters,\u201d Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs, told the Global Times.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only functional Nepal-China road in Rasuwa Gadhi, northwest of Kathmandu, has been closed since early August and has had very little trade transit since the Covid-19 pandemic started. \u201cThe Chinese side used to arrange transport of up to 14 containers per day to the border point and containers on Nepal side used to carry goods to Kathmandu. But it has been weeks since it is completely off,\u201d said Anu Acharya, a journalist based in Rasuwa district bordering Tibet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China is to start a feasibility study for the Tibet-Nepal Railway through the fragile Himalayas, but there are concerns that environmental impacts are not being considered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20000283,"featured_media":20098979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[758],"tags":[510,544,556,600],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000110,20000113],"class_list":["post-20098881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-china-in-the-world","tag-finance","tag-infrastructure","tag-trade","country-china","country-nepal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNepal and China take step towards one of \u2018world\u2019s toughest railways\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"China is to start a feasibility study for the Tibet-Nepal Railway through the fragile Himalayas. 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