The $6 billion Chinese-built railway connects Vientiane to Kunming, China

Laos opened a $6 billion Chinese-built railway connecting Vientiane, its sleepy capital of around 1 million people, to the Chinese city of Kunming in the southern Yunnan province.

The move on the surface appears to be an ambitious bid to boost the economy of Laos, which until today had only four kilometers of railway tracks.

But the impressive engineering feat—which will see bullett trains pass through 75 tunnels and 167 bridges—also comes with a hefty $1.06 billion in debt that some wonder how one of Southeast Asia's poorest will pay it off.

From China's perspective, the rail could be the first step towards linking it to Thailand, Malaysia and then Singapore—all countries with much larger economies than Laos.

But Thailand has declined Beijing's offer to build a connecting branch, and so far has no plans to launch a local campaign to lay the tracks on its own terms.

What happens now? 

Passenger services begin tomorrow, and anyone who boards must be fully vaccinated.

Economists will be watching in the months and years ahead if the Laotian private sector is able to take advantage of the new transport system for commercial opportunities.

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