Construction report for Vietnam's coastal city of Nha Trang

News #209: Cambodia plans high-speed rail, Xinyue City Center project in Laos, satellite images showing Chiang Mai's growth, and Vietnam-China high-speed rail plans

The Future Southeast Asia Newsletter features transport and urban development news in Southeast Asia, edited by James Clark.

Hello from Kuala Lumpur, and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to Muslim readers.

It didn’t occur to me when I booked my flight from Danang to KL that I would be arriving in the afternoon of the last day of Ramadan. I usually avoid travel during holiday periods (such as Tet in Vietnam and Songkran in Thailand), but my visa was running out and I had to travel on this day.

KUL was the busiest I have ever experienced. Our plane was stuck on the tarmac for 20 minutes while waiting for a gate, and it didn’t help that the broken-down aerotrain that connects the satellite terminal is still a replacement bus. When I got to immigration I was greeted with a queue that was spilling out down the corridor.

Immigration queue at KUL

The queue took about 30 minutes, so it didn’t get anywhere near my record queueing times of 90+ minutes set at BKK, DMK, SGN, and MNL (I’m not sure which was the longest).

The good thing about KUL is the airport rail link, which takes 30 minutes to get to KL Sentral. I was soon on the streets of KL and enjoying the festive spirit of seeing all the restaurants overflowing with people ending their fast.

I will be doing a construction report for KL on this trip, and then making my way to Singapore by train (three trains to be precise).

This week’s main article is my construction report for Nha Trang. I also have News Extra for paid members. Consider an upgrade to support the work of this site.

Latest posts at Future Southeast Asia

Updates on construction in Nha Trang, including current and stalled projects, and the Vega City development.

News Extra

News Extra for paid subscribers, which expands on news stories and some insights into what I am working on.

The curious case of the Trans-Borneo High-Speed Railway, Ho Chi Minh City and the Truong My Lan/VTP fraud trial, Battambang by air or train.

News

🇧🇳 Brunei

🇰🇭 Cambodia

🇮🇩 Indonesia

🇱🇦 Laos

Xinyue City Center project in Bokeo Province, Laos.

🇲🇾 Malaysia

 🇵🇭 Philippines

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇹🇭 Thailand

The NASA Earth Observatory website posted satellite images showing Chiang Mai's growth from 1989 to 2024. Meanwhile, Chiang Mai is still choking on haze.

🇻🇳 Vietnam

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