CHINA-SINGAPORE HS

The main priority of China’s southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in the next five years is to build a high-speed rail link from its main city of Nanning to a planned new line to Singapore. The construction of a line to Pingxiang, a city near China’s border with Vietnam, will start in the second half of this year. The local government wants a railway network to boost its trade with the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations, Guangxi’s largest trading partner and export market. “We will invest $US3.05 billion to build a railway linking Nanning and Singapore via Vietnam. This is extremely important for the construction of the Nanning-Singapore economic corridor,” says Long Li, director at the region’s transport department.