Mongolia has launched a rail line that could help boost coal exports to China to 50 million tonnes a year, Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh said, ending a decade-long wait for the crossing.
A ceremony to mark the launch of the rail service between the Tavan Tolgoi coal field and Gashuun Sukhait on the Chinese border was held on Friday.
Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh was among the dignitaries in attendance, his Web site says.
Photo: AFP
Heavily dependent on mining, Mongolia has long sought cheaper and more efficient ways to export its minerals abroad and has a national strategy to expand its rail network connections with Russia and China.
Mining makes up one-quarter of the nation’s GDP.
China has stepped up its investment in coal in the face of extreme weather, an economic slowdown and a global fuel crisis.
The 233km Tavan Tolgoi rail line has the capacity to export between 30 million and 50 million tonnes of coal to China annually, according to Tavantolgoi Railway LLC, the state agency that built the line.
In 2020, the North Asian country exported 28.6 million tonnes of coal. Last year, exports fell to 15.9 million tonnes.
The railway is also expected to lower the cost to transport coal to US$8 per tonne, compared with US$32 per tonne when coal is delivered by truck, the railway authority said.
Tavan Tolgoi is rich in coking coal, an essential ingredient in the steelmaking process.
For years, coal has been transported in trucks to China, a process that has led to long lines at the border and frequent accidents.
Mongolian governments have attempted to build a railway from Tavan Tolgoi to the Gashuun Sukhait border for more than a decade.
Tavantolgoi LLC was formed in 2018 to complete the project. Ulan Bator-based Bodi International served as the general contractor.
The Gashuun Sukhait-Gantsmod border crossing is now the second Mongolia-China border point with a rail crossing, with the other at Zamyn-Uud-Erlian.
Progress Rail, a division of Caterpillar, agreed to supply 16 locomotives to support operations for the railway project.
The new locomotives are designed to fit the 1,520mm gauge used in Mongolia, Russia, and other former Soviet republics.
Mongolia’s current 1,900km rail network was almost entirely constructed during the 20th century with help from the Soviet Union. It consists mainly of the Trans-Mongolia line between Russia and China, and a spur line to the city of Erdenet.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS