Infrastructure
Transport and shipping
The AIIB and shifting economic dynamics in Southeast Asia
The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which seeks to help plug Asia’s infrastructure-funding gap, has begun shifting the economic balance of power and influence in Southeast Asia, a region in which Japan and the United States have traditionally been the key external economic players. While ...
Lý Sơn begins construction of new $9 million tourism port
Construction of the new Bến Đình Tourism Port in Quảng Ngãi Province’s Lý Sơn Island District kicked off on November 23. The US$9 million project is expected to meet the increased number of visitors to the island district, and is planned to be completed in 2018. ...
SRT plans high-speed rail talks with Malaysia
Thailand is preparing to sit for talks with Malaysia to discuss an ambitious initiative to build a new high-speed train system linking Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The planned meeting follows interest expressed earlier by the Malaysian transport minister, which drew an enthusiastic response from Thai ...
Myanma railways to offer compensation for circular line upgrade affected
Compensation is on the agenda for Myanma Railways, as planned up- grades to the Yangon circular railway gather steam. Myanma Railways general manager U Htun Aung Thin told The Myanmar Times there would be negotiation and compensation for those affected by the project. “We held ...
Japanese aid package funding three JICA projects
Three projects funded by part of a recently announced US$7.7 billion Japanese aid package are under way, according to the Japanese International Cooperation Institute. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced earlier this month that his country would provide 800 billion yen in aid, loans and ...
Three Thai airlines face CAAT clampdown
Three Thai-registered airlines are experiencing a financial crunch after their operations were severely affected by a sharp drop in Chinese tourists. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand ordered the three airlines to devise financial rehabilitation plans in response. The number of tourists from mainland China to ...
Seaport complex licensed in Quảng Ninh
A US$300 million project, consisting of a seaport and industrial park at the Đầm Nhà Mạc area in Quảng Yên town in the northern province of Quảng Ninh, was granted an operating licence on November 18. Investors of the project are the CDC Corporation, headquartered in ...
Surveys underway on Vientiane-Hanoi highway route
Surveys are underway to identify possible routes for the Vientiane-Hanoi highway, which could pass through up to three Lao provinces to link the two capitals but the route has yet to be determined. Laos and Vietnam have being conducting preliminary surveys of three possible routes ...
Phu Yen calls for emergency aid after floods
The flooded central province of Phu Yen Province has called for Government emergency aid of 1,000 tonnes of rice and over one tonne of medicine and medical supplies. The province sustained the most damage in the south-central region from recent rains and flooding, with an estimated ...
Gov’t to borrow over $1B this year: report
The government expects to borrow nearly $1 billion from external creditors this year, primarily for infrastructure development, pushing the national debt over $6 billion, according to a report issued on November 4 by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. About a third of this amount, some ...