TONGHAI, Yunnan - Construction workers on Tuesday laid the last piece of a railway that will link Southwest China's Yunnan province with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries.

The Yuxi-Mengzi Railway has a total length of 141 km with a designed maximum speed of 120 km per hour. It passes through 35 tunnels and crosses 61 bridges, which together account for 54.95 percent of the line's total length.

The railway is part of the eastern line of the planned Pan-Asia Railway network, an international railway project that will also consist of central and western lines.

Funded by the Ministry of Railways and the Yunnan government, the railway has a total investment of 4.5 billion yuan ($709.78 million).

The railway is expected to become operational later this year and will boost land transportation between China and ASEAN countries.

The Pan-Asia Railway network is designed to start in Kunming, capital of Yunnan, and pass through the cities of Yuxi, Mengzi and Hekou in Yunnan to connect with Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Singapore.