Exotic Railway Edition: More Mongolian Coal for China

//Ed. Note: With this report, TNT concludes its Mongolia
reporting...until next time.//

Tiny Railway click for previous TNT reporting on Mongolia's
ever-expanding rail network.



New railway will go from Tavan Tolgoi to Gashuun Sukhait
on the Chinese border (just above the "A" in "CHINA".

Cabinet to Accelerate Construction of Tavan Tolgoi- Gashuun
Sukhait Railway

On August 8th the Cabinet made several decisions to speed up the
construction of the 267-kilometer railway between Tavan Tolgoi
coal mine and Gashuun Sukhait border checkpoint.

Cabinet ministers decided to establish Tavan Tolgoi Railway
state-owned company with 51 percent or more state wonership.

The company was given a five-year license to construct embankment
and ground works of the railway.  The Cabinet also allowed the board
of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC to fund required financings to restart
some delayed construction works by establishing a pre-sale contract
for purchase of Tavan Tolgoi coal.

The Prime Minister instructed some ministers in charge of the project
to study about foreign companies with capacities to pay advance
payment, manage port utilization and conduct transit transportation
that are interested in collaborating with Mongolia on this project,
and a task force made up of these ministers was formed to report
on its performance within this year.

The government believes that after the railway is built, the country
will be able to export up to 30 million tons of coal a year.  It will
also reduce the railway transportation cost of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi
JSC by approximately eight USD per ton, ensuring four-fold
cheaper transportation to China and the third market, compared
to road transportation.

The railway will also increase workplaces and reduce environment
and pasture deterioration and soil and air pollution.