"An Ambitious China-backed railway project connecting two economic centers in Myanmar with Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in southwestern China, will cost almost US$9 billion and final decisions on the specific details of the construction are expected to be made by the end of this year. As a part of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), which is itself part of Beijing’s grand infrastructure plan, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a feasibility study for the Muse-Mandalay standard-gauge railway has been carried out. Last October, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by two state-owned companies, the China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group (CREEG) (formerly the China Railway Group Ltd.) and Myanmar Railways. During the second Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in late April, China handed over a feasibility report on the Muse-Mandalay Railway project to Myanmar’s Minister for Transport and Communications U Thant Sin Maung. Myanmar Railways experts are currently scrutinising the Muse-Mandalay feasibility report and making serious decisions regarding routes, bridges, tunnels and the exact locations of stations. The Managing Director of Myanmar Railways U Ba Myint said in a press conference in Naypyitaw on Monday that the construction of the railway will cost $8.9 billion according to the study..."