Batbold: Railroad Supposed to Reach Seaport

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Written by P.Shinebayar

Friday, July 16, 2010.

Q: The Government’s proposal on shared exploitation of the Tavan Tolgoi Mine was rejected by the Parliament. Will it affect negotiations with investors? Batbold: We discussed this matter carefully from all angles. The Government has made its decision in conjunction with the National Security Council, all related working groups appointed by the Parliament and its Standing Committees, as well with concerned experts and scholars. The most important thing is to get things started and the Government plans to commence initial operation this year. A number of issues remain open for discussion by the parliament’s autumn session including the compliance with international standards in building and the utilization of plants, roads and infrastructure facilities, based on the Tavan Tolgoi Mine. The creation of jobs for Mongolians and prioritization of domestic products in the supply of the mine through coordination of the project implementation with the national policy on domestic production support, the transit transportation, pre-conditions, pre-payment and the employment of border checkpoints. Q: When the state-owned “Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi” company will commence its operation? Batbold: While the Parliament is on break until autumn, we (the ministers) still have a great deal of work to complete before the start of the parliament’s autumn session. The Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi operation is scheduled to begin before the end of this year. Q: The Parliament has adopted many important documents concerning socio-economic development of the country. One of them is the State Policy on Railway. How do you expect the role of this document in intensifying our national economy? Batbold: This session of Parliament made many decisions on economic issues which are critical for development. Now we have a legal environment in place to build a railroad network to link economic development hubs in a systematic manner. The above State Policy on Railroad includes the issue concerning direct export of domestic products. Q: When the building of railroad ‘Tavan Tolgoi- Sainshand-Baruun Urt-Choibalsan’ commence? Batbold: It must happen before the end of the year. Associated ministries and agencies are currently in preparation. New railroad project require an enormous amount of funding and the Government current focus is on raising funds for initial implementation. The eastern route of the railroad is supposed to reach seaports. Thus, the Government supports any initiative to cooperate with our neighbors, South Korea and other countries under this project. Negotiations are currently underway.