While most people are happy to surrender their land and homes to make way for the planned Laos-China railway, they hope they will be properly compensated.
Many Vientiane residents say they are confident the US$7 billion project will speed up the development of landlocked Laos, but hope the compensation they receive will enable them to enjoy better living conditions after relocating from their birthplace.
A 60-year-old resident of Houaynamyen village in Naxaithong district, Vientiane, Mrs Kianglay Phengmeuangkhoun, said on Friday she was happy to hear that a high speed railway would run from China through Laos, and on to Singapore and Europe because it would bring development to Laos.
“My house is located in the path of the railway and I am happy to give up my land so the railway can be built. However, I expect appropriate compensation,” she told Vientiane Times .
Project officials had told her family to calculate the amount of compensation they expected to receive. This would amount to about two million kip per square metre as her land is located along a main road, she said.
Another villager, Ms Bouathong Luangpanya, said many people wanted the project to provide them with new land because they would have no place to live. “But I want money because I own two plots of land,” she said.
According to the National Consulting Group, which is conducting a social and environmental assessment of the project, the railway will be built on a tract of land 421km long and 80m wide.
The company started the assessment process earlier this year and expects to complete the work within two months. The study will provide information on the number of people who will have to relocate or otherwise be negatively affected by the project.
Company official Mr Videth Visounalath said the government would use the assessment as a reference for providing compensation.
“The government has urged us to speed up the social and environmental impact assessment as construction of the railway will begin in April,” he said.
The compensation awarded will account for the government's 30 percent investment stake in the project, while a Chinese partner will own the remaining share.
Mr Videth said his company would not only collect information from local residents but would also urge them to seek ways to benefit from the project.
While Lao people might have insufficient skills to help build the railway, they could indirectly benefit by raising chickens and growing vegetables to provide food for the thousand of workers employed on the project, he said.
Houaynamyen village chief Mr Bounthavy Amphonephong said the village was home to 400 households, of which about 150 would be affected by the project.
He said villagers had not yet been told how much compensation they could expect to receive.
By Ekaphone Phouthonesy (Latest Update January 31 , 2011)
