Transport and shipping
Transport infrastructure and facilities
The soul of the Mekong is in trouble
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last week asked reporters why non-governmental organisations, environmental activists and academics continue to protest against the planned blasting of rapids in the Mekong River. He said many of these protesters are outsiders, meaning people who do not live by the riverside, do ...
Rail mishaps prompt call for action
Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình on Saturday ordered urgent measures to increase safety at railway crossings. His order came in the wake of a sharp spike in the number and scale of railway accidents during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday. Deputy PM Bình, ...
Hun Sen promotes links with Myanmar sites
Cambodia and Myanmar have agreed to strengthen ties by focusing on both nations’ tourism and education sectors, but stopped short of discussing the latter’s widespread abuse and persecution of the Rohingya minority. In a meeting between Prime Minister Hun Sen and Myanmar’s President U Htin Kyaw, ...
Airlines plan promotions after new jet fuel tax drives up fares
Airlines are preparing more marketing campaigns and promotions to maintain ticket volumes after the implementation of a new jet-fuel tax is set to drive up air fares. Major carriers doubt that the higher tax on jet fuel will affect their business in the long term, ...
Wattay international airport expansion 11 percent complete
The Vientiane International Airport Expansion Project has now achieved 11 percent of its contractual goals and should be complete by the beginning of 2018, according to a press release from the Embassy of Japan to Laos and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The project is ...
Road No. 17B to Laos-Myanmar bridge deteriorating
A 70-kilometre section of Road No. 17B linking the Laos-Myanmar Friendship Bridge to Sing district town in Luang Namtha province remains unpaved after almost two years and is deteriorating. An official of the provincial Public Works and Transport Department Mr Chansamone Outamavong, told Vientiane Times ...
Siem Reap airport’s future up in the air
The government is ready to move forward with negotiations on compensation for stripping a French company of its concession to operate Siem Reap’s international airport, while plans for the construction of a new Chinese-operated airport to serve the provincial capital are close to being finalised, ...
JICA support for logistics
The Japan International Cooperation Agency will continue to support the development of Cambodia’s logistics sector in its partnership with the government to reduce transport costs and strengthen the country’s logistics infrastructure. This pledge was made by Kume Hidetoshi, the JICA representative in Cambodia, when he ...
Govt seeks investors to fund Vientiane-Pakxe expressway
The government is seeking investors to bankroll construction of the planned Vientiane-Pakxe expressway to link the country’s capital with Pakxe the capital of the southernmost province of Champassak. The Ministry of Planning and Investment recently issued an announcement asking local and foreign companies and investors ...
Southeast Asian governments are ramping up spending
Governments in Southeast Asia are ramping up spending just as central banks are putting away their policy-easing tools. From Thailand to Malaysia, states are boosting budgets for railways, roads and other infrastructure projects to help bolster growth in a region facing uncertain global markets and the ...