Infrastructure

Cambodia and five other countries that share the Mekong River have agreed to open their borders to more commercial truck and tourist bus traffic as part of a transnational agreement aimed at promoting regional logistics and tourism, a senior transport official said on 19 July. Chem ...

Malaysia and Singapore signed an agreement on 18 July to build an ambitious high-speed rail link touted as a first for Southeast Asia that will knit the historically fractious neighbours more closely together. Authorities have yet to provide cost projections, but analyst estimates have been as high ...

Thailand may buy 9,000 megawatts of electricity from Laos this year to ensure sufficient supply to meet rising demand, says a senior official at the Energy Ministry. That is nearly 30% higher than thethe 7,000MW Thailand currently buys annually from Laos, according to the most ...

Air fares in Asia-Pacific are expected to fall by 1.1% next year against a 2.5% rise in global rates seen in the period. The most significant drops in the region are expected to take place in Japan and Singapore, by 2.8% and 5.5%, respectively, given ...

Senior officials have advised the Lao Vangvieng Cement Plant to produce sufficient supplies of cement in preparation for construction of the Laos-China railway. Vangvieng Cement Plant Deputy Director, Mr Chanthay Vongnakhone, told the press on 16 July that their three plants at Vangvieng were quite capable of ...

Energy officials will seek to better connect ASEAN members’ electricity grids into a regional energy network over the next five years to better utilise the countries’ respective strengths and weaknesses in power generation, it was announced at a meeting of the bloc in Myanmar’s capital ...

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has proposed the prime minister to approve the investment plan of the $311.9 million seaport and industrial park complex invested by a consortium of three foreign investors in Quang Yen town of the northern province of Quang Ninh, Vietnam. According ...

With Laos’ electricity generation set to reach 10,000MW by 2020, the country is continuing to negotiate with neighbouring countries to increase the volume of electricity exports. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mines on 15 July, Laos will hold talks with Myanmar on electricity cooperation ...

On 13 July, the Ministry of Finance signed a US$30 million agreement with the World Bank aimed at continuing to finance Laos’ Poverty Reduction Fund, improving livelihoods and upgrading infrastructure for residents of 150 rural villages in over 40 districts of 10 target provinces. The funding will ...

People in Tak province say nothing has been done about removing cadmium contamination from their water source, while the Appeals Court on 12 July upheld the Civil Court’s earlier ruling against zinc-mining companies on the leakage of toxins into the Mae Tao River Basin. The Southern ...