Eight projects with a total value of $250 million were signed in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China’s Gansu province, as the city tries to position itself as a new pivot along the Silk Road.

The signing of the eight projects, including the building of railways and highways in South Asia and a container logistics project, were eyed at the Fifth China Inland Port (Lanzhou) Development Forum on July 5.

Officials, businessmen, experts, and scholars from Nepal and Pakistan discussed issues such as South Asian cargo trains departing from Lanzhou and land port development under the Belt and Road.

There are many areas where China and Nepal can work together. Last year, Lanzhou and Nepal’s capital Kathmandu became sister cities, complementing their resources and economies, said Hari Prabha Khadki, deputy mayor of Kathmandu.

Gansu International Inland Port, located in one of China’s largest logistics areas, is a key transit port and material distribution center for international trade, as well as a freight train hub for trade with Europe, and central, western, and southern Asia.

Twenty-two contracts were signed during the forum, a record value of almost 13 billion RMB. The port handled two million tons of cargo from January to May, and that number is still increasing.