Can Nepal afford an ‘$8 billion’ rail line from Lhasa to Kathmandu?

Questions galore over costs and benefits of the ambitious project. Nepali leg alone is expected to cost over $3 billion.

On September 9, Zhang Jiadong, a professor at Fudan University in China said the proposed Nepal-China cross-border Lhasa-Shigatse-Kerung-Kathmandu railway could cost around $8 billion.