Transport and shipping
Transport infrastructure and facilities
Thailand, China agree on railways
The Thai cabinet approved a draft cooperation framework on 17 November for the Thai-Chinese railway development project. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the draft framework covered the construction of 1.435-metre standard-gauge railways along two routes. They are Nong Khai-Nakhon Ratchasima-Kaeng Khoi and Bangkok-Kaeng Khoi-Map Ta Phut. Keep reading ...
Vientiane-Hanoi to conduct highway feasibility study
Laos is preparing to undertake a feasibility study with Vietnam for a Vientiane-Hanoi highway project to bring the two capital cities closer to one another. Head of Office of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Dr Santisouk Simmalavong told Vientiane Times on 16 November that the ...
China, Laos to build $6.3 bln railway project by 2020
China aims to complete laying a 418-kilometre (260-mile) railway from a border town to Laos by 2020, the official China Economic Herald reported, as the economic giant seeks a new route into the emerging markets of Southeast Asia. The two countries agreed on 13 November to jointly ...
Setting the right price for investors
Subscription to the initial public offering of Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) opened on 12 November. The capital’s port operator aims to raise $5.2 million by floating a 20 per cent stake on the Cambodian stock exchange in December, becoming the third company to list on ...
Vietnam plans Hanoi-Vientiane highway project: report
Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has started a feasibility study on a 760-kilometer highway to connect Hanoi and Vientiane, local media reported on 11 November. The study conducted by Transport Engineering Design Inc. will help decide whether the route should pass through Nghe An or Ha Tinh, two central ...
Overpass mulled as solution to Vientiane's traffic snarls
Officials are wrestling with the problem of identifying a long-term solution to Vientiane’s chronic traffic jams and some are suggesting that an overpass might ease the situation. While no such scheme currently exists, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility to imagine that overpasses will ...
Ho Chi Minh City eyes $380mln of loans for waterway expansion
Ho Chi Minh City has asked for the central government’s help in taking out loans worth around US$380 million for a major dredging program to deepen one of its key waterways, local media reported on 9 November. The Soai Rap, a tributary of the Saigon River, ...
Concrete roads pave way to the future in Vientiane
More roads in Vientiane and the provinces are being built or upgraded using concrete rather than asphalt as the authorities recognise its durability against the ravages of wet weather and heavy trucks. An official from the Vientiane Public Works and Transport Department, who asked not to ...
Bangkok's main airport to get huge traffic surge
Suvarnabhumi airport expects to see traffic surge nearly 20% over the next six months on the back of strong high-season travel demand, turning it into one of Asia’s busiest airports. A total of 24.8 million passengers are expected to pass through the country’s gateway airport between 25 ...
Activist raps Thailand's deadly road safety record
The high road fatality rates that make Thai roads the world’s second deadliest may in fact be understated, said Prommin Kantiya, director of the Accident Prevention Network (APN). Mr Prommin, who was responding on 5 November to the Public Health Ministry’s campaign to reduce road fatality rates, said ...