Logistics
MONGOLIA RATIFIES AGREEMENT FOR CROSS-BORDER RAILWAY WITH CHINA
April 7, 2025
Mongolia's parliament has ratified a strategic partnership between Mongolia and China to jointly construct the new 19.5km long Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod Cross-Border Railway connecting the two countries.
This project extends the existing railway network that stops short of the border, requiring trucks to complete consignment deliveries.
The announcement said the construction of the new railway and container transfer facility is expected to start in April 2025 and be completed in two and a half years.
The project will be overseen by the state-owned company Erdenes-Tavantolgoi JSC in Mongolia and China Energy and its subsidiaries in mainland China.
"Once operational, this railway link will increase coal transport capacity by 30 million tons and enable the expansion of Mongolia's Tavan Tolgoi Coal Mine, which holds huge potential with untapped coking coal deposits," the announcement said.
It noted that if other border crossings, such as the Khangi-Mandal and Shiveekhuren-Sekhen crossings, are connected, Mongolia's total capacity for coal exports could reach up to 120 million tons by 2030.
The railway link will also increase coal sales revenue by US$1.5 billion per year.
First proposed in 2009, the project had been subject to significant delays.
The announcement said negotiations have progressed since the Prime Minister listed it as one of fourteen 'Mega-Projects' included in the action Program of the Government of Mongolia for 2024-28.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Tuvaan Tsevegdorj said the ratification by the Great Khural gives the green light to a "transformative project that will reshape our export industry."
"The years of overreliance on motor vehicles is coming to an end, and our expanded capacity will deliver jobs, growth, and other benefits for all Mongolians," Tsevegdorj said.
