Future Southeast Asia
Posts
The proposed Chiang Mai subway system

The proposed Chiang Mai subway system

[News: 17 Sep 2025] How not to build a new city, Vietnam airports map, urban planning after Bali floods, proposed 65-storey tower in Phnom Penh, bridge to Koh Samui, monorail plan along Hanoi's Red River

James Clark
September 17, 2025

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

Hello from Chiang Mai. It’s my last week here before I hit the road, so I have been researching some Chiang Mai articles before I go.

This month, I walked the length of the proposed first light rail line of Chiang Mai. It’s called an LRT, but it’s a cross between a tram and a subway system. There are several transit proposals in Thailand outside of Bangkok (Pattaya, Korat, Phitsanulok, Khon Kaen, Phuket, Hat Yai), but Chiang Mai is the only one that is proposing underground sections.

While I was walking the route, I stopped at a cafe that has an Underground sign as decoration. Will there be “Chiang Mai Metro” signs around the city in the future?

Underground sign at Well Coffee Station.

New article index

I have made an index of articles that are featured in the newsletter. This is a list of all of the articles, and doesn’t include the weekly news roundups. I usually post one article per week, and there is a mix of free and premium articles for paid subscribers.

A Premium subscription is $5 per month or $50 per year. I don’t offer advertising in the newsletter, so your subscription helps support this site and offsets costs for research trips.

Future Southeast Asia articles

Latest articles

• Chiang Mai Metro System – Reviewing the routes of the 3 proposed transit lines

Chiang Mai is planning to build a 3-line urban rail transit system that will be the first provincial subway in Thailand. I visited the locations of every station of the proposed first line, and I reviewed the routes of the other lines. I also propose to turn one line into a circle line.

• How not to build a new city – Marina Bay City Lombok

Marina Bay City is a new coastal development on the southwest coast of Lombok. It’s billed as the Miami of Asia, but it looks more like a gated community in Anywhereville Florida.

• Vietnam Airports: Map of commercial airports in Vietnam

Recent articles

• Airport rail links to Long Thanh International Airport

News

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Japanese and Cambodian investors partnering up on $100 million, 65-story luxury hotel, condominiums in Phnom Penh [The Phnom Penh Post]

• Beijing ensures $1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal completion by 2028 [Kiripost]

• Seized lakes: How Cambodia’s airport boom is breaking a fishing community [Hard Stories]

• Villagers face displacement as sand mining erodes riverbank [Khmer Times]

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Poor waste management, land conversion worsened deadly Bali floods, says Indonesia’s environment minister [CNA]

• Bali freezes new hotel permits in wake of flood disaster [Jakarta Globe]

• Tangerang regency to build six MRT stations as part of East-West line (archive) [The Jakarta Post]

• Indonesia plans debt renegotiation with China over Whoosh line [Jakarta Globe]

• Will Indonesia’s US$80 billion sea wall hold firm against environmental critics? [SCMP]

"Indonesia is hoping to involve China in the project along northern Java, as critics also question Jakarta’s ability to finance the wall."

• Indonesia eyes new SEZs for shipbuilding and railway industries [Jakarta Globe]

• Turning Jakarta’s overlooked sidewalks into common ground [The Jakarta Post]

"In a city built for cars, sidewalks often feel like an afterthought. But revitalized stretches in Jakarta are proving that these in-between spaces have the power to shape not just how we move, but how we connect and belong."

“…more than 1,000 house and lot units have been allocated specifically for informal settler families affected by the ongoing construction of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) South Long Haul Project-Segment 2-7.”

• DEPDev: 52 flagship projects to be completed by 2028 [BusinessWorld]

• Search on for contractor of P690 million LRT-1 rehab [The Philippine Star]

• DoTr to issue NSCR bid soon amid interest from 28 Japanese firms [BusinessWorld]

• Officials find ‘most expensive’ flood control project in Bulacan [Inquirer]

"The ghost flood control project in this town cited in the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing over a week ago that was worth P193 million, was not only the most expensive so far of five found in the province, but also would not have benefitted any community even if it had been built, according to local officials."

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Former ITE HQ and ITE Dover campus to be demolished by HDB for new homes [The Straits Times]

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Senate panel wants Land Bridge project put on hold [Bangkok Post]

• Thailand’s high-speed rail faces delays as new transport minister takes charge [The Nation]

• Samui sea-bridge project expected to reach cabinet next year [Bangkok Post]

"Bidding would open in 2027 and construction start a year later, with completion planned in 2034, if the cabinet approves the project".

• China bets big on Thai industrial cluster with US$8.4 billion investment [SCMP]

"The Eastern Economic Corridor, which spans three Thai provinces, is receiving more funding from Chinese investors than any other foreign country."

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Long Thanh Airport Phase 1 inauguration remains unchanged on Dec 19, 2025 [SGGP]

• Investors propose monorail and scenic boulevard along Hanoi's Red River [VietNamNet]

"An ambitious proposal aims to reshape Hanoi’s riverfront with a monorail and landscape corridor running 84 kilometers along the Red River."

• Urban rail connecting Da Nang, Hoi An proposed [VietnamPlus]

"Deo Ca Group is full steam ahead with a plan to connect the two central localities Da Nang and Hoi An through a new urban railway system, aiming to deliver faster, greener travel by 2030."

• Hanoi starts construction of metro line 2, bridge over Red River and underpass on October 10 [Lao Dong]

• Ho Chi Minh City’s severe land subsidence heightens flood risks: study [Tuoi Tre News]

News tips

News articles of interest to Future Southeast Asia readers can be shared on the Future Southeast Asia News Facebook Group. Join the group to read and discuss the articles.