On November 18, the 2024 China International Friendship Cities Conference opened in Kunming under the theme "Sharing Win-Win, Creating the Future Together." More than 700 representatives from over 60 provinces and states and 120-plus cities in more than 40 countries, as well as over 60 local government organizations or friendship organizations, attended the conference. Among Kunming's 26 international friendship cities is Vientiane, the capital of Laos, which is linked to Yunnan by shared mountains and rivers, geographical proximity, close people-to-people ties, and a long-standing friendship.

In recent years, Sinohydro Bureau 14 has actively devoted itself to various construction projects in Laos. If there is a kind of friend called a "friendship city," then Sinohydro Bureau 14 is a friend of the "friendship cities."

A "Road of Friendship"

On December 3, 2021, the 1,035-kilometer China-Laos Railway officially opened to traffic, greatly shortening the distance between Kunming and Vientiane and making possible a lifestyle of "tasting rice noodles in Kunming in the morning and enjoying coffee in Vientiane in the evening."

The China-Laos Railway is not only a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative, but also the first international railway led by China in investment and construction, adopting Chinese technical standards and Chinese equipment, and directly connected to China's railway network.

As a participating unit in the China-Laos Railway, Sinohydro Bureau 14 undertook the construction of Section 15 of the Yuxi-Mohan section and Sections IV and V of the Mohan-Vientiane section, as well as the fabrication, transport, and erection of 530 girders at the Vang Vieng beam yard, with a cumulative participation mileage of 57.19 kilometers. Among these, Sections IV and V of the Mohan-Vientiane section total 37.4 kilometers and include five long tunnels totaling 21.73 kilometers—including the Sen Village No. 2 Tunnel, the longest on the entire line—12 bridges totaling 5.52 kilometers, 10.15 kilometers of subgrade, and three passing stations.

Since the China-Laos Railway opened for operation, as of November 3 this year, it has operated more than 60,000 passenger trains, carried 41.7 million passengers from more than 100 countries and regions around the world, and transported 46.7 million tons of freight, including 10.7 million tons of cross-border cargo.

This steel dragon spanning mountains and rivers has brought tangible benefits to the two countries and their peoples and has set a model for regional cooperation and common development. As the first modern railway in Laos and a representative project of China-Laos friendship under the Belt and Road Initiative, the project won the China Construction Engineering Luban Prize (Overseas Engineering), and the project department of Sinohydro Bureau 14 received honors including the title of "Advanced Grassroots Party Organization of Central Enterprises" and the "Locomotive" trophy.

The speeding trains and the many medals and awards are the best commendation for Sinohydro Bureau 14's participation in building the China-Laos Railway!

In addition, the project department's work and living camp was rated an "Excellent Camp for Chinese Overseas Projects," and the project's construction has been reported many times by Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, Lao National Television, and many other domestic and international media. Works such as "The Chinese Taste of Laos," which won the Cultural Communication Ambassador Award at the Second Belt and Road Hundreds of Countries Imprint Short Video Competition, have been widely disseminated. The company also built a number of infrastructure facilities for local communities, including the drinking water project in Songxawa Village, adding luster to China-Laos friendship.

A "Two-Way Journey"

On August 16 this year, the handover and official commissioning ceremony for the Luang Prabang Hospital upgrading and renovation project in Laos, undertaken by Sinohydro Bureau 14, was smoothly held in Luang Prabang in northern Laos. The project is one of the important achievements of the two countries in deepening friendly cooperation and promoting the development of Laos' health sector.

Luang Prabang Hospital in Laos was built with Chinese aid at the beginning of this century. The upgrading and renovation project includes the construction of a new surgery and cardiology building, a Chinese experts' apartment, a sewage treatment station, a fire water tank, and a fire pump room; the repair of the hospital's existing buildings and outdoor works; and the provision of related equipment.

To advance the project construction with high quality, Sinohydro Bureau 14 actively formed a lean and efficient project management team and assigned energetic and efficient construction crews, applying scientific management and meticulous organization to coordinate the project's safety, quality, and progress. Adhering to a people-oriented approach, taking safety management as the "soul" and quality management as the "root," it went all out to advance project construction and build a premium project of outstanding quality, reliable safety, and civilized construction that can stand the test of history and of the Chinese and Lao people.

This is a "two-way journey" in building a China-Laos community with a shared future. During project construction, the Chinese and Lao sides communicated fully and became increasingly in sync. Sinohydro Bureau 14 fully respects local Lao customs and traditions, and Chinese and Lao employees celebrate festivals together whenever they arrive. Sinohydro Bureau 14 also actively participates in public welfare causes, donating solar street lights and other items to the project area. Bit by bit, local residents have come to better understand the project construction, and everyone's hearts have drawn closer.

The upgraded and renovated Luang Prabang Hospital has further improved the health infrastructure in northern Laos, raised the level of medical and health services and medical treatment capacity, and enabled local residents to enjoy quality medical services at their doorstep.

This is a vivid interpretation of the two countries' shared destiny and joint pursuit of a better future.

A "New Landmark"

On July 30 this year, Phoenix TV reported on the Laos Latsavong Wanda Vista Hotel project in Laos, in which Sinohydro Bureau 14 participated.

The report noted that in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, landmark projects built by Chinese-funded enterprises can be seen everywhere. Among them, the Latsavong Plaza comprehensive building, the tallest building in Laos, was jointly created by several Chinese-funded enterprises, erecting a new landmark on Vientiane's skyline.

The fine decoration works for this ultra-five-star hotel covered a wide scope and required strong specialization, but with the joint efforts of Sinohydro Bureau 14's professional project team, all work proceeded in an orderly manner. From material procurement to on-site construction, from quality control to scheduling, every stage was carefully planned and organized to ensure the steady progress of the project, earning high praise from the owner.

The opening of the Latsavong Plaza Wanda Vista Hotel not only injected new vitality into Laos' economic development and cultural exchanges, but also further promoted cooperation between China and Laos in infrastructure construction and tourism services.

Previously, Sinohydro Bureau 14 also participated in the construction of the Laos Boten Economic Zone, including the Boten Lake dam reconstruction and expansion project, the road from Boten Lake to the golf course and its extension, the road from the International Commercial and Financial Center to the railway station and its extension, and the International Commercial and Financial Center.

As an important node of China-Laos cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, the Boten Special Economic Zone is located in Luang Namtha Province, Laos, adjacent to China's Mohan Port. It is a national-level land port city on Laos' route to China. The zone not only guards the transport node of the China-Laos-Thailand Economic Corridor, but is also the first stop for the Kunming-Bangkok Expressway and the Trans-Asian International Railway entering Southeast Asia from China, enjoying a uniquely advantageous geographical location.

On April 12, 2019, on the occasion of the Dai New Year, then Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith praised the Laos Boten Special Economic Zone project undertaken by Sinohydro Bureau 14 on his personal Facebook, saying: "The Laos Boten Special Economic Zone is achieving modern development and may in the future become an even larger city than Vientiane, the capital of Laos."

"Sharing Win-Win, Creating the Future Together." As a central enterprise based in Yunnan, Sinohydro Bureau 14 has for many consecutive years been honored as the "No. 1 Yunnan Foreign Economic and Trade Enterprise." On the grand stage of Belt and Road construction, Sinohydro Bureau 14, with 70 years of heritage, will keep in mind the "greatest concerns of the nation," advance overseas project construction with high quality, be a friend of the "friendship cities," and join hands with all sectors to write a new chapter of friendship spanning mountains and seas.

The Mengka Xinanli River Grand Bridge on the China-Laos Railway

The Luang Prabang Hospital upgrading and renovation project in Laos

The Wanda Vista Hotel in Laos