China to finish $2 bln Tibet rail extension by 2015
Feb. 16 (Reuters): China will complete by 2015 a $2 billion rail extension from Tibetan capital Lhasa to Shigaste, the seat of the Panchen Lamas in southern Tibet.
The 13.3 billion yuan ($2.02 billion) spur follows the 2006 completion of a rail link to Lhasa, which critics said would speed the Sinofication of the Tibetan plateau and enable a sharp increase in mining and other industry in the environmentally fragile region.
By opening up transport of ore to the industrial regions of China, the rail line has accelerated a number of mining projects, including the massive Yulong copper mine, under development by Western Mining and Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd .
Full story: http://bit.ly/fZCGWM