News

Cambodia

Cambodia Plans Improvement of Thailand and Viet Nam Border Gate Facilities

“Cambodia’s border crossing points with Thailand and Vietnam are crowded with traffic of cross-border transport and tourists. The country wants to develop the necessary infrastructure to manage this traffic flow to ease cross-border transport and boost trade activities.”

Indonesia

Indonesia’s new capital in the Bornean jungle on hold amid COVID-19 crisis

“The Indonesian government’s plan to relocate the country’s capital from Java to Borneo has hit a wall amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a top official saying they would “evaluate it or something” after the crisis passes.”

Maybe it won’t be built after all.

Japan

Japan’s invisible problem: enough empty homes to house Hong Kong and no known owners

“In Japan, ownership of an area of land the size of Taiwan is a mystery, and it’s causing problems for disaster relief programmes.

Falling land values, tax quirks and patchy registration have left 3.5 million unoccupied residences, and an ageing population will make things worse.”

Related, I enjoyed this article about buying an apartment in Tokyo.

Philippines

'Build Build Build' to help restart Philippine economy: NEDA chief Chua

“President Rodrigo Duterte's P8 trillion infrastructure program will be an "important part" of the Philippines' recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, his new socioeconomic planning chief said Tuesday.”

Duterte open to dropping infrastructure projects for more COVID-19 funding

“The government plans to spend over ₱1 trillion this year on various construction projects, in keeping with the administration's promise to usher in a "Golden Age of Infrastructure" and fill the country's needs for longer and wider roads, convenient train systems, and bigger airports and seaports, to name a few.

But that plan may now be shelved with the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on the local and global economy.”

Going back to my preamble about governments needing to spend their way out of a recession, the Philippines is sending mixed messages here.

Taiwan

Requiem for the Living Mall

“Core Pacific City was an architectural oddity, tucked into an unfashionable part of Taipei. Still, the shopping center – now being razed – always had its admirers.”

I’m sad I never visited this!

Thailand

33 hours for southeast Asia’s “biggest continuous foundation pour, ever”

“In all, 547 trucks delivered 23,725 cubic metres of concrete over 33 and a quarter hours to make the 4.5-metre-deep raft foundation in February.”

This gargantuan amount of concrete was for the One Bangkok project near Lumphini Park.

[One Bangkok.]

Four new BTS stations ready to open in June

“Test runs to four new BTS Skytrain stations beyond Kasetsart University station (N13) have started since April 8, Manit Techa-apichoke, president of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration-owned Krungthep Thanakhom Co, said.”

Bangkok mansion, city’s oldest private residence, still owned by family that built it 200 years ago, who say ‘Selling it would be like selling out’

“The roof leaks, floorboards are loose and pillars cracked in the 19th century Hokkien-style house that’s been in the Posayachinda family for eight generations.

To the Sino-Thai family their riverside home is a burden but also a privilege. They turned down US$64 million for it, despite lacking the funds to renovate it.”

Here is Pattaya in lockdown mode.

[photo source.]

Vietnam

HCM City speeds up Metro 2 project ground clearance

“The HCM City authorities are speeding compensation in order to start the Metro Line 2 Project in October.”

Work on Long Thanh Airport can begin in May 2021: ACV”Construction of the Long Thanh International Airport in the southern province of Dong Nai can start May 2021 and finish late 2025, Airports Corporation of Vietnam said.”

The second metro line and new airport have been delayed by years, so if they were both under construction in 2021, it would be a remarkable feat.

I’ve been posting updates about the HCMC Metro, but let’s not forget that Hanoi is also building its first metro. The first line was meant to be finished by now, but it has faced continual delays.

They have a good Twitter account that posts construction updates.

Also in Hanoi, I found these articles from last month about mosaic manhole covers that are popping up around the city. Here are some more photos.

[Photo from dtinews.vn.]

It doesn’t take much to turn an ordinary object into a thing of beauty. Sometimes cities can become known for little details.

This reminds me of the ornamental manhole covers in Japan. There are Facebook groups and Instagram accounts dedicated to Japanese manhole covers, and it’s the sort of thing I actively seek out.

[Manhole cover in Osaka. Photo via Notes on Osaka.]

I will look for these manholes on my next visit to Hanoi.

I haven’t posted anything about Hanoi on this site yet. I’ve visited every year for the last five years, but I still find myself getting lost in the old city. I would need to spend a few weeks there to visit the outlying areas and get a feel for what is happening along the metro lines.