Vung Tau construction report (and maybe an urban railway)

Hello from Ho Chi Minh City. I'm wrapping up my 6-week stay here this week, and then I am off to Australia for a month. Apart from my weekend trip to Vung Tau earlier this month, I haven’t travelled anywhere.

After my Australia trip, I plan to visit 5 countries in Southeast Asia for Future Southeast Asia research. That’s the general plan. I might also get tired and end up in a favourite place for a while. I will announce the cities that I am visiting when I am closer to the dates, and I will arrange some reader meetups.

Newsletter update. I was in the process of transferring the newsletter service that delivers this email, but life and my technical skills got in the way.

This week’s main article is a trip report from my aforementioned weekend to Vung Tau.

Latest posts at Future Southeast Asia

• Vung Tau construction update: 2024 edition

A report on Vung Tau construction projects, and following the path of a proposed urban railway.

News

• Japan's economic presence in Southeast Asia is not fading away

“Competition with Chinese companies for regional opportunities is not zero-sum.”

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• New Phnom Penh International Airport over 64% work completed

• Q&A: How Cambodia’s Chinese-backed Funan Techo Canal risks destabilizing the Lower Mekong Delta

• Cambodia begins to construct river bridge in capital with funds from China

• PM invites Chinese investors to put​ money into infra sector

• Singapore developer to build luxury township near Cambodia’s new airport

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Jakarta to be financial center after capital relocation: OIKN

• Finance Ministry approves Greater Bandung LRT project

• Indonesia builds two underground stacked stations for MRT in Jakarta

• Indonesia's KAI gets $450 mln loan from China to cover bullet train cost

🇱🇦 Laos

• Lao government green lights 1200 MW wind power project, largest to date

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Report: Challenges emerge as new bidders seek Putrajaya’s backing to revive KL-Singapore HSR

• The return of Melaka Gateway: scaled-down ambitions

“What was touted as a mega project in the form of the Melaka Gateway is now a shadow of its former self. There remains, however, significant challenges for the envisioned cruise terminal.”

• Fishermen file judicial review to challenge approval of Penang South Reclamation project

• Federal Govt looking to expedite airport expansion project in Penang, says PM

• Prasarana to seek RM38mil compensation from developer over 12-month Ampang LRT disruption

• Johor eyes Kuching ART as benchmark for similar transportation system

• 'Moon craters' go viral: Sabahans use cyberspace to address poor road conditions

🇵🇭 Philippines

• San Miguel-led group wins $3bn Philippines airport revamp

"The Philippines has picked a consortium led by drinks-to-toll roads group San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to revamp and operate its main international airport in Manila, routinely ranked as one of the world's worst."

• First Bulacan, now NAIA: San Miguel-led group will operate Philippines’ main airport

• Meralco to invest P280 million for Metro Manila Subway

• MPIC to pursue buyout of Ayala stake in LRT-1

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Cycling route between Pasir Ris Park and East Coast Park opens, 18km Eastern Corridor completed

• Marina Gardens Crescent site not awarded as sole bid ‘too low’: URA

• Travellers to pay more for flights leaving S’pore from 2026 to support use of greener jet fuel

• Malaysia still deciding whether to sell two plots of land in Woodlands to Singapore

• Listen up for the jingles: SMRT to progressively roll out new chimes in trains and stations

“The chimes, made in collaboration with nonprofit organisation The Teng Company, take inspiration from familiar local tunes.”

• Singapore’s tap water safe to drink, no need for further filtering devices: PUB

🇹🇭 Thailand

• House backs Thailand Land Bridge

"The House of Representatives has endorsed the Land Bridge feasibility study with 269 votes in favour, despite concerns and objections from the opposition."

• Pattaya urban rail project gathers momentum with public consultation

• Incentives extended for EEC rail line builder

• Delays to key infrastructure projects in EEC discourage foreign investors

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• North-South express railway line project to be submitted to Politburo in March

• HCMC relocating underground utilities for 2nd metro

"With contractor selection completed, the relocation of electricity and water systems has begun to make way for the construction of Ho Chi Minh City’s new metro line No. 2."

• HCMC leader wants special policies, not money, for building metro

• Bids invited for key packages of Long Thanh airport project

• 5 public squares planned around downtown Hanoi lake

• Sand shortage affects progress of Tham Luong-Ben Cat canal road construction

• Confiscated motorbikes pile up as Vietnam goes after drunken driving

“For many drivers, it’s cheaper to abandon the bike than to pay the fine. Now the police are wondering what to do with them all.”