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Transcontinental railway "high priority" for Unasur: Bolivian minister

Xinhua, February 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Union of South American Nations (Unasur) has considered as a "priority" the construction of a transcontinental railway linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, a Bolivian minister said Tuesday.

"This gigantic project is of high priority for Unasur. There is a willingness to reach an agreement between Brazil, Bolivia and Peru to start on this project. We are moving closer to making it a reality," Bolivian Public Works Minister Milton Claros told a press conference.

In a meeting with Bolivian President Evo Morales in La Paz on Feb. 18, Unasur Secretary-General Ernesto Samper said the bloc will help Bolivia connect its own railway system with the new transcontinental line, Claros said.

The Bolivian government is creating a permanent technical commission to inform interested parties of the progress being made in carrying out the project, Claros added.

The railway, which links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, will begin at Puerto Santos in Brazil, cross Bolivia at Puerto Suarez, pass the municipalities of Santa Cruz, Montero and Bulo Bulo before entering Peru and ending at Puerto de Ilo.

The coast-to-coast railway was one of the main cooperation projects between China and Latin America promoted by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during his four-nation tour of South America in May 2015, which included Peru and Brazil.

A joint feasibility study on the railway is expected to be ready by May 2016. Endi