A Laotian official said China has agreed to finance a $7 billion railway link in Laos that will ship raw materials to the Chinese border.
There was no confirmation of the agreement from Chinese officials. The two countries have failed to reach a deal on the railway link for several years.
Laos's Energy and Mining Minister Soulivong Dalavong said in an interview that under the new agreement, which is expected to be signed within days, Chinese banks will provide financing to build a 418-kilometer rail link from the capital Vientiane to the Chinese border.
