Railway project connecting Pacific, Atlantic still on track: Chinese embassy in Brazil
Source:Global Times Published: 2018/2/15 15:27:35
China, Brazil and Peru have reached consensus on cooperation involving a new 5,000-kilometer railway between Brazil and Peru that would open a new trade route between China and South America by bypassing the Panama Canal, according to a statement sent to the Global Times by the Embassy of China to Brazil on Wednesday.
The comment was in response to a Reuters report on Sunday, which cited a Brazilian official as saying that the country had dropped plans for the railway due to concerns over costs and engineering challenges.
The three countries pledged in July 2014 to build a railway across the South American continent, after Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his Brazilian and Peruvian counterparts in Brazil, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
A final report on researching the feasibility of the railway has been completed, said the embassy's statement. And Brazilian and Peruvian officials have also highly praised the "professional and efficient" work of the Chinese team.
The railway would cross the Andes - the world's longest continental mountain range- to ports on the Pacific. It would allow ships from China and other countries to dock in Peru and load cargo that had been sent from Brazil by rail. Commodities from China and other countries could also take the shortcut rail route, instead of passing through the Panama Canal to the Atlantic Ocean and sailing far to the south to reach ports in South America.
For the next stage of development, the two Latin American countries will study and research detailed questions regarding financing of construction and the sustainability of the railway, the statement said. When that part of the process is completed they will select "important routes to promote the railway project step by step."
"Chinese companies respect the willingness of countries involved and will cooperate in relevant works," the statement noted.
