On October 19, 2015, China announced an investment of 200 billion yuan (US$ 31.4 billion) in a 4,500-sq-km zone pilot economic zone on the border with Laos. The investment, which  includes an economic development park at Mohan on the border, will cover more than 240 projects in such fields as transportation, education and energy for the Mengla zone in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, according to the provincial development and reform commission and the Xishuangbanna government on Monday.