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Islamabad: The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) provided a post-project support amounting to $287,407 for the Pak-Korea ICT Center for Excellence. This funding is utilized for essential roof repairs and the procurement of 103 high-speed computers equipped with licensed software for two new labs. The upgraded new labs will enhance the center’s capacity to provide high-quality ICT education, catering to the growing demand for skilled professionals in Pakistan’s ICT sector.

In addition to these vital upgrades, KOICA has provided a state-of-the-art video conferencing system, which significantly upgrades the center’s capacity for online teaching and remote learning. The installation of monitoring cameras further aims to bolster the operational efficiency of the ICT Center.

Since its establishment, KOICA has remained actively involved in the ICT Center, initially handing it over to the CTTI management in 2016. Following a series of follow-up evaluations, KOICA has recognized the center’s accomplishments and committed to this additional support. Currently, the ICT Center boasts 11 fully operational labs, and in response to increasing student demand, plans have been set in motion to develop two new specialized labs: a Graphic Designing Lab and a Data Analysis Lab.

The Graphic Designing Lab will offer a diverse curriculum, including courses in Graphic Design, Print Graphics, Motion Graphics, and UI/UX Design. Meanwhile, the Data Analysis Lab will focus on cutting-edge topics such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain Technology, Data Analysis, and Data Planning. These labs are expected to accommodate 200 students annually, contributing to the center’s current enrollment of approximately 1,800 students across various courses.

Through this strategic support, KOICA continues to play a pivotal role in enhancing

educational opportunities and remains dedicated to fostering skill development in Pakistan’s growing ICT sector.

By Sun Guangyong, Yang Yi, People’s Daily

On Dec. 3, the China-Laos Railway embraced a new chapter in its historic journey with the celebration of its third anniversary of operation. The international railway, stretching from Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan province to the Lao capital Vientiane, has continuously bolstered transport capacity and enhanced regional connectivity.

With its influence extended to other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia, the railway has become a golden transport corridor linking Chinese and international markets, benefiting countries along the route.

At dawn, Onkeo, a local girl, weaved through a crowded platform at the Vientiane Railway Station, ready to board her train. Every month, she takes the China-Laos Railway to visit her grandmother in her hometown of Muang Xay, a city in northern Laos.

“In the past, it took a full day and night to travel from Vientiane to Muang Xay by car, but now, it’s just about three hours by train,” Onkeo said.

As Laos’ first modern railway, the China-Laos Railway has not only changed the way local people travel, but provided international travelers with a new option.

Three years since its launch, the average daily number of passenger trains handled by the Lao section of the railway has grown from 4 to 14, with daily passenger trips surging from over 1,000 to nearly 15,000.

According to data from Laos’ Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, over 85 percent of the travelers from Vientiane to Luang Prabang chose the China-Laos Railway as a favorable mode of transport.

Thonglor Duangsavanh, editor-in-chief of Vientiane Times, noted that Laos previously struggled with inconvenient transport options. The China-Laos Railway provides tourists with an accessible and affordable way to travel, he added. He expected more tourists to visit Laos by train to experience the country’s unique natural landscapes and way of life.

As of Nov. 30 this year, the China-Laos Railway had handled 42.92 million passenger trips, with the Lao section alone having transported 7.41 million passengers and 10.74 million tons of goods. The range of goods transported via the railway has expanded from initially over 10 varieties, such as rubber, fertilizers, and general merchandise, to over 2,700 types currently, including electronics, photovoltaics, telecommunications equipment, and automobiles. This has effectively driven industrial upgrades and international trade along the route.

Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone told People’s Daily that over the past three years, the China-Laos Railway has allowed Lao people to travel much more easily and facilitated the movement of goods and passengers in the whole region. It has played a crucial role in enhancing regional connectivity and trade facilitation, said Siphandone.

In addition to driving economic growth, the China-Laos Railway has also boosted employment in Laos. Over the past three years, thousands of Lao trainees have joined training programs to learn professional skills in locomotive operation, maintenance, passenger and freight transportation, and shunting, among others.

As of October this year, there are over 1,000 Lao employees working on the railway, accounting for 61.3 percent of the total workforce. They are playing an increasingly prominent role in railway safety management, passenger and freight transportation, equipment operation and maintenance, and other areas. Besides, the railway has created over 100,000 jobs in Laos.

With the launch of the Lancang-Mekong Express service, the transit time from Kunming to Vientiane has been reduced from three days to just one day. Besides, the China-Laos Railway has formed an international logistic artery by linking with the China-Europe freight train service and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which has shortened the time needed to transport goods directly from Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and other Southeast Asian countries to Europe to 15 days. The interconnected railway has provided a more convenient and efficient logistics corridor linking China with South Asia and Southeast Asia, contributing to regional economic development and prosperity.

Over the past three years, the Lancang-Mekong Express has handled over 15,000 international cargo trains, transporting over 10.6 million tons of import and export goods, with a cargo value exceeding 44 billion yuan ($6.05 billion).

According to Deng Yu, head of freight business at Laos-China Railway Co., Ltd., the Chinese goods transported via the China-Laos railway can be transshipped through Laos to other ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Additionally, the Lao goods imported to China can reach 25 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, Deng added.

Driven by the China-Laos Railway, Southeast Asian countries are speeding up railway development and strategic coordination to enhance regional connectivity.

In July this year, the Thailand-Laos cross-border passenger train service began its operation, enhancing rail connectivity between Thailand and Laos while linking up with the China-Laos Railway; Thailand is speeding up the construction of the China-Thailand Railway; the ASEAN Express, an international freight train connecting Malaysia to Thailand, Laos and China, has already been launched, boosting Malaysia’s trade connectivity with China and Southeast Asia.

Malaysia is also advancing its East Coast Rail Link project, actively pursuing connections with Thailand’s high-speed rail network, and pushing for the construction of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail; and Indonesia is conducting the feasibility study for extending its Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway from Jakarta to Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city.

Surasit Thanadtang, director of the Thai-Chinese Strategic Research Center, National Research Council of Thailand, said that the railway network is enabling Southeast Asian countries to accelerate connectivity and access broader market opportunities.

“Greater regional connectivity helps reduce logistics costs, facilitates the movement of people, creates more development opportunities, and drives regional economic integration,” he said.

By Zhao Peng, Cao Wenxuan, People’s Daily

At 10:25 p.m. (Beijing Time), Nov. 30, a Long March-12 carrier rocket blasted off from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site in Dongjiao township, Wenchang, south China’s Hainan province, and sent two experimental satellites into their planned orbits. The launch mission achieved complete success at 10:48 p.m., according to Hainan provincial authorities.

This mission marked the first launch mission undertaken by the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site, which is the first to be built for commercial missions in China.

“The successful maiden launch marked a groundbreaking achievement in China’s first commercial spacecraft launch site. It completes the whole industrial chain that covers satellite and rocket manufacturing, testing and launch services of commercial spacecraft launch sites, and satellite applications,” said Guo Qiang, a board member of Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co., Ltd. (HICAL).

With an area of more than 2,500 mu (about 166.67 hectares), the launch site is located about 3 kilometers away from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, which is China’s first open seaside spacecraft launch site that covers over 10,000 mu.

Since the 1950s, China has successively established satellite launch centers in Jiuquan, northwest China’s Gansu province, in Taiyuan, north China’s Shanxi province, and in Xichang, southwest China’s Sichuan province. In response to the demands for higher rocket carrying capacity and fewer launch costs, the Wenchang Space Launch Site was completed in 2014 and held its first launch in 2016.

The rapid development of satellite launch sites leads to rising market demands. According to the 2023 blue book on China’s aerospace science and technology environment, China managed to complete 26 commercial launches in 2023, accounting for 39 percent of all launches that year.

In June 2022, Hainan officially proposed the construction of the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. At the same time, HICAL was set up to accelerate this process. The construction commenced just a month later, with two launch pads for liquid propellant rockets.

In December 2023, the No. 1 pad was completed, designated for the Long March-8, China’s new-generation medium-lift carrier rocket. The No. 2 pad was completed in June 2024, which is capable of launching multiple types of rockets with various diameters from commercial rocket companies. Each pad has an annual capacity of 16 launches.

Not far from the launch site lies the satellite-rocket industrial park of the Wenchang International Aerospace City. There, construction is in full swing with vehicles and towering cranes bustling about. A super satellite manufacturing factory that consists of several buildings is about to complete roofing.

“The factory will be able to produce satellites in a way similar to how cars are manufactured on an assembly line,” said Wang Shicheng, who has spent over 20 years in the field of aerospace. He now works for a satellite company and is involved in the factory’s construction.

“Commercial aerospace encompasses rocket and satellite development, satellite operations and applications, as well as the manufacturing and servicing of ground equipment. The key aspect of ‘commercial’ is to follow market-driven principles,” explained Yang Tianliang, HICAL’s chairman of the board.

Yang stressed the need to reduce costs and increase efficiency across the entire value chain, from construction and production to launch and operation, because this is essential to attracting more enterprises to the sector.

“The high launch frequency of the site allows rocket developers to gather more telemetry data and will accelerate the upgrading of China’s rocket technology,” said Ma Lei, deputy general manager of Hainan Tianbing Technology Co.

Ma revealed that the company’s rocket assembly and testing facility is under rapid construction, with plans for the newly-developed Tianlong-3 large liquid-propellant carrier rocket to make its maiden flight soon from the No. 2 launch pad.

It’s not just Hainan Tianbing Technology Co. that stands to benefit. The No. 2 launch pad features a universally adaptable launch platform that can meet the needs of over 10 rocket companies and at least 19 rocket models, covering the majority of China’s mainstream commercial rockets.

“We will continue to enhance our innovation capabilities and provide businesses with sound launch conditions and operational environment,” said Shou Junming, HICAL’s assistant general manager. He noted that while providing solid support for rocket companies, HICAL has made significant strides in innovation and has already applied for 22