Bolivian Markets’ Potential Access to China by Alysun Littlefield

(Source: International Business Times)
Premier Li Keqiang Speaking on the Potential Railway through South America

In 2015, Premier Li Keqiang promised to provide $10 billion to study and eventually construct a railway that would run from Brazil's Açú Port, northeast of Rio de Janeiro on the Atlantic Ocean, to an undecided port on Peru’s Pacific coast. This 3,000 mile long railway would make it significantly cheaper for South American goods to make it to Asia.

(Source: RailNews Media Ltd)
Evo Morales of Bolivia speaking with Premier Li Keqiang of China about Bolivia's Role with the South American Railway

The major issue with the proposed route was the 140 mile stretch of inhospitable rain forest from the Brazilian city of Cruzeiro do Sul to the Ucayali River in Peru, which could not only have a large negative impact on the environment, but would also have run through territory populated by a dozen different indigenous tribes.

After careful consideration, the Chinese estimate of the cost of the railway to be more than $60 billion, basically killing the project. Bolivian President Evo Morales instead suggested the route come from Brazil’s Port of Santos, run straight through Bolivia, and end in Peru’s southern port of Ilo. This route would not only be less environmentally destructive and dramatically cheaper, estimated $13.5 billion in total, it would also give Bolivia direct access to the Pacific ocean, which could solve many problems it faces due to its landlocked status.

(Source: Inter-American Dialogue)
The Proposed South American Railway

(Miami Herald) (Reuters)