The Vientiane Capital Department of Public Works and Transport has issued a notice calling on residents affected by the Laos-China Railway to come forward and claim compensation for land acquired along the railway corridor, or risk losing it to the state permanently.
The notice, dated 6 March, covers 43 villages across four districts in Vientiane Capital: 24 villages in Naxaythong, eight in Xaythany, nine in Xaysettha, and two in Hatsayfong.
Affected residents must submit claims in person at the department’s office between 18 March and 18 June. Any property whose owner has not come forward by the deadline will be transferred and reclassified as state property.
The announcement comes years after the railway first displaced thousands of families across Laos. The USD 6 billion project, built as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and opened in December 2021, affected an estimated 6,875 families nationwide.
As of late 2024, at least 371 families had still not received full compensation, having refused what they described as inadequate offers. The government had by that point paid USD 83 million to 6,504 of the affected families.
Disputes over compensation rates have been a persistent issue. Some residents in Vientiane were offered LAK 80,000 (approximately USD 3.50) per square metre but held out for LAK 150,000 (USD 6.90), saying the lower figure did not reflect the land’s market value.
The railway itself has been a transformative project for Laos.
The 414-kilometre line links Vientiane to the Chinese border at Boten and has carried more than 62 million passengers since opening. It forms part of the broader Kunming-Singapore rail corridor plan and remains the most significant Belt and Road project in the country.
For residents still waiting, the June deadline marks another chapter in a compensation process that has dragged on for nearly a decade. Authorities have urged all eligible parties to act promptly.
