Material**: babr24, "MN Simultaneous Interpretation" compiled this article for the benefit of readers. The views in this article are for reference only and do not represent the position of "MN Simultaneous Interpretation".
At the Great Hural Conference of Mongolia, deputies of parliamentarians had a heated discussion with the international company Bodi International LLC on the issue of the construction of the railway from T**Antolgoi to Gashuunsukhait. Representatives of the General Administration of Customs and T**Antolgoi Railway LLC also participated in the discussions. However, the large-scale infrastructure project, which once brought honor to Mongolia, has been questioned by some delegates about whether there is a conflict of interest in its implementation.
Mongolia's first national railway line, T**Antolgoi-Gashunsukhait, was officially opened to traffic in September 2022. At the opening ceremony, Khurilsukh** said that this was the first railway built by the Mongols and fully owned by the state. Recall that on August 8, 2018, at the initiative of the then Battulega, Mongolia adopted Resolution No. 242 "On Deepening the T**Antolgoi-Gashunsukhait Railway Project" and established the Taben Tolgoi Railway LLC, which is responsible for the implementation and operation of the project.
The railway plays a key role in the export of raw materials for the mining industry, connecting the T**Antolgoi mine with the port of Gashunsukhait. The T**AntoLgoi-Gashunsukhait project, which was launched in 2020, was launched in 2020 by Bodi International LLC in Ulaanbaatar and by Taben Tolgoi Railway LLC. Covering Tsogtsetsii Soum, Bayan-Lgii Sum and Khanbogd Sum in Mn Govi province, it is 240 km long with 2 stations and 6 border crossings.
The opening of this railway has opened up an important passage for Mongolia to Chinese ports, solving the problems of border congestion and traffic accidents previously caused by road transportation. In addition, the T**Antolgoi-Gashunsukhait railway provides an opportunity for Mongolia to compete in the global market, transporting low-cost raw materials to Chinese ports as well as other third-country markets.
However, it is worth noting that the project contractor, Bodi International LLC, received a huge fortune from it, which raised suspicions among some representatives that there was a conflict of interest during the implementation. The company, which originally lost 3 billion tugrik, has become a wealthy company with a profit of 430 billion tugrik because of the implementation of this project. The acquisition of this vast wealth led some delegates to question the transparency and fairness of the project.
Before the construction of the railway, coal from Mongolia to China could only be transported by road, leading to traffic congestion and accidents at the border. The completion of this railway provides Mongolia with more opportunities to participate in the international community, but the huge amount of money used in it has raised concerns. Vice-Councillor zhOriginally launched in 2012 by private company Energy Resource LLC, Bat-Erdene revealed that it planned to attract both private and foreign investors. However, due to a series of reasons, the project was eventually taken over by the state-owned company Mongolian Railways, and Bodi International LLC won the tender to implement the entire project.
The cost of each kilometer of railway construction is as high as $3.2 million, which is a huge expense in the national treasury. ** To this end, it is argued that this railway is a real national railway of Mongolia and a pure Mongolian railway. However, Vice-Councillor DBatlut noted that the contractor received an advance payment of 8.1 million coal on a non-market basis. In addition, since 2011, the project has spent 1 trillion tugriks on consulting services, which ultimately proved useless and did not get practical application.
As a result, a series of issues involving corruption and conflicts of interest have emerged behind the Mongolian railway project. Although it has created national wealth and provided Mongolia with more opportunities for international cooperation, there are still controversies over the management of expenses and the choice of contractors. This case has raised questions about the transparency and fairness of Mongolia's infrastructure construction at home and abroad, and has become a major controversy in the local political and economic arena.