BEIJING, Aug 29: China plans to extend the newly-built Qinghai-Tibet railway to Nepal to expand trade with South Asia, the Xinhua news agency quoted a top Tibet official as saying on Monday.

Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, made the remarks to visiting Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital.

“Tibet is a remote region and is looking forward to constructing a new passage to South Asia to tap the huge potential for bilateral trade,” Mr Puncog said. “The railway extension will greatly promote economic exchanges.”

Mr Oli, who arrived in Lhasa on Saturday for an eight-day formal visit to China, said the Nepalese government was looking forward to cooperating with China in work on extending the railway line.

Work on Qinghai-Tibet railway’s first branch line connecting Lhasa with Xigaze, Tibet’s second largest city, is expected to begin next year.

The line to Xigaze, which is not far from the Nepalese border, will extend the railway by some 270 kilometres. It is expected to be completed in three years.