The opening ceremony of the construction project for the railway crossing the border of the Gashuun Sukhait–Gantsmod border post between Mongolia and China is ongoing. The ceremony is attended by the Prime Minister of Mongolia, L. Oyuun-Erdene, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, Sun Shaocheng, the Chairman of the China Energy Group, Zou Lei, and the Chairman of the Board of the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), Dai Hogen, along with representatives from the governments of both countries, relevant ministries, agencies, and enterprises.
Today, Mongolia and China have commenced the construction of the second connecting railway after 70 years since the establishment of the Zamiin-Uud and Ereen railway through the agreement made in 1955. With this railway connection, the capacity of the border crossing will be doubled, coal exports will reach 165 million tons, generating an additional income of 1.5 billion USD annually, reaching the government’s target of 10,000 USD per capita GDP, and creating the fundamental conditions for economic expansion.
The technical and economic feasibility study and detailed design of the Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod border railway project were carried out by China Railway Design Corporation (CRDC), while the construction work will be implemented by the Chinese company China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) subsidiary, China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group Co., LTD. This company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CRCC, which is ranked 43rd among the world’s top 500 enterprises, holds the ‘SPECIAL CLASS’ permit as a general contractor for construction work in China, has over 2,100 employees, annual sales revenue of 7 billion dollars, and is a leading construction company in China’s railway sector. The construction work is scheduled to start in May 2025 and to be commissioned within 22 months.
The Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod railway crossing is a first-class railway with both a 1520 mm broad gauge and a 1435 mm narrow gauge track, featuring a main line length of 19.5 km and a bridge structure ranging from 8 to 31 meters high with single and double tracks. It has a freight capacity of 30 million tons per year on the broad gauge and 10 million tons per year on the narrow gauge. The total estimated budget for the project is 902 billion tugriks, and according to the 68th resolution of the Parliament of Mongolia in 2023, the financing was decided to be executed by Erdenes Tavantolgoi JSC.
The railway crossing the Gashuun Sukhait-Gantsmod border post will be a significant boost to Mongolia’s coal export volume, transportation logistics capacity, and economic growth. With the construction of this cross-border railway having begun, conditions are being established to connect the border posts of Mongolia and China, specifically Shiveekhuren-Sekhe, Bichigt-Zuukhataavch, and Khangi-Mandal, through the railway as agreed in intergovernmental negotiations. As a result, the coal export volume is expected to increase from 83 million tons to 165 million tons, with annual export revenue increasing by 1.5 billion USD, contributing significantly to raising Mongolia’s GDP per capita to 10,000 USD. Additionally, transportation costs are projected to decrease by 2 to 2.5 times, export capacity to increase by 30 million tons, and transportation revenue to rise by 300 million USD. Furthermore, the project is expected to create 200 permanent and 800 temporary jobs, serving as a real lever for regional development and employment support.
Within the framework of the project, it is planned to implement a total of 7 main work packages.
These include:
- Railway upper and lower structure work
- Bridge structures
- Energy infrastructure
- Construction buildings
- Signaling and communication systems
- Road and infrastructure
- Customs and border control complex buildings Source: mining.mn 2025/05/14