News #186: Unfinished metro business

This week I have been preparing a construction report for Ho Chi Minh City. I started looking into the delayed second metro line, which is the topic of this week’s article.

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Line 2 HCMC Metro

Line 2 of the Ho Chi Minh City Metro (HCMC Metro) is the planned second line of the Ho Chi Minh City transit system.

News Extra

• News Extra: 31 October 2023 (Subscriber post)

Waiting for the HCMC Metro, variations of news reporting in Southeast Asia, a big hotel in Dalat, and who wants to fly at 3 a.m?

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News

• Defunct airports of Southeast Asia

I posted this article on my travel site. While not about the future, this will be of interest to fellow infrastructure nerds. If you are new here, I also have a travel newsletter that includes updates on my travels in Southeast Asia.

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• $50B CDC logistics initiative unveiled

• Energy-hungry Cambodia takes a big gamble on coal

• Billion-dollar airport whets Cambodia appetite for Chinese investment

• $37 million Monivong flyover to open ahead of schedule by KNY

• Interurban expressway redefines traffic patterns between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville

• I have updated the Bassac Sea-Link page. The Bassac River Navigation and Logistics System (“BRNLS”) was renamed to the Funan Techo Canal.

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Jokowi defends bullet train blowout in new Bloomberg TV show

• Jakarta-Bandung HSR carries 58,000 passengers since commercial operation

• Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo once symbolized democratic hope—his plan for a new capital represents a darker legacy

• Indonesia president breaks ground on airport in new capital

• Korean consortium to study Bali metro plan

"The KNR-backed consortium of national operator Korail, KRT Co Ltd, Saman Co Ltd, and Dongmyeong Co. Ltd has been awarded a 16bn won contract, funded by South Korea’s Eximbank, to carry out a feasibility study for the Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport – Central Parkir section of Bali’s planned light metro. The study is due for completion by the end of August 2024."

• Indonesia kickstarts Jakarta LRT extension, set to complete in 2026

• Levies considered for Indonesia’s five super-priority destinations

These destinations are part of the 10 New Balis project.

🇱🇦 Laos

• Lao, Thai Premiers attend the opening ceremony of the Khamsavath Railway Station in Vientiane

• Laos, Thailand vow further cooperation on infrastructure, connectivity

• Japan provides grant to Laos for new bridge

“The Government of Japan has provided a grant of USD 71,500 to support the construction of a new concrete bridge in Na-Han-Noi Village, Savannakhet Province, Laos.”

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Frankly Speaking: LRT3 and Penang LRT: Can MoF please explain cost disparity?

• A big metro system with few riders? By

“Kuala Lumpur's RapidKL is intriguing, often more for what it lacks than what it possesses.”

• KTM Komuter network, infra need drastic overhaul, says transport expert

• Rapid KL to start work on open payment system from March 2024

• Country Garden’s financial woes may hit Malaysia projects

• End-of-life vehicle policy impractical with poor public transport, say experts

🇵🇭 Philippines

• Philippines drops China railway deals, seeks other funders

• Signing for $1 billion MRT-4 loan pushed to next year

• Seoul airport operator  bidding for NAIA rehab

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Terminal 2 fully reopens, boosting Changi Airport's operating capacity to 90 million passengers annually 

• Outdated on arrival, ERP 2.0 is the type of costly technology project Singapore should avoid

• HDB reports record $5.38b deficit as more flats completed, ageing homes upgraded

• Singapore grows food on top of skyscrapers—and anywhere else it can find

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Thailand to accelerate construction of China-Thailand railway: PM

If that sounds familiar, it’s been said before (see news archive).

• A bad Idea revisited: Thailand pitches Prayut’s ‘Land Bridge’ to Beijing

• Five new Thai airlines to start flying next year

• Chiang Mai airport's new hours met with protests

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Construction of Vietnam’s tallest, 108-storey building to begin in Hanoi next month

No mention of the height, but I have seen quotes from 500m to 600m. For reference, Landmark 81 in HCMC has an architectural height of 461.2 metres. This new tower has 27 more floors, though the spire and floor height is a factor. Merdeka Tower in KL will safely remain as the tallest building in SE Asia (679 m).

• Explainer: Vietnam's real estate woes: how much worse can they get?

• Government launches action plan on railway transport development

"The Government has issued Resolution No 178/NQ-CP on an action plan for implementing the Politburo’s Conclusion No 49-KL/TW on the development orientation of Vietnam's railway transport to 2030 with a vision towards 2045."

• Ha Long-Mong Cai railway proposed

• HCMC’s most populated district gets anti-flooding upgrades to canal

• If you can take the cable car to the Colosseum, you’re in Vietnam

“The country is in the middle of a cable-car bonanza, much of it driven by the over-the-top developments of the Sun Group, which feature giant Buddhas, ersatz European enclaves and selfie spots galore.”

• Vietnam to train 100,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030