News: 23 August 2023

Hello from Jakarta. My month in Indonesia is coming to an end this week, so I will be spending the next month writing guides and reports from this trip. It’s been great to spend more time in Jakarta and not feel so rushed. There is so much going on here, so I am just been picking one thing to see each day so I can also attend to my work. The pollution is still bad though and that has been in the local news all week. I will return when the high-speed railway is operating and use that trip to visit other places in Java.

Latest posts at Future Southeast Asia

• Jakarta MRT: Maps, resources, and news for the Mass Rapid Transit of Jakarta

There is already a good guide on Wiki for the one metro line, but I had trouble finding useful maps. This guide is a central resource for maps and news of future lines.

News

• China's grip on Southeast Asia tightens as U.S. influence wanes

“From Vietnam to Indonesia, development aid and 'Asian values' drive Beijing's dominance.”

• Taxi drivers are earning more from viral TikToks than from rides

“Some drivers across Southeast Asia have found a lucrative side-hustle as influencers.”

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• On the Mekong, sand mining threatens the river and a way of life

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• A plan for how Indonesia will spend $20 billion to transition to cleaner energy has been submitted

• Nursing a persistent cough, Jokowi calls for air pollution measures in Jakarta as locals complain of respiratory issues

• BRIN researcher talks of artificial rain to clean Jakarta air pollution

• Awaiting Jabodebek LRT's operation as independence anniversary gift

• Indonesia to allocate $2.7 bln next year to construction of new capital

• No Garuda-inspired palace yet: Slow construction among other woes in Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara

🇱🇦 Laos

• Laos-China Railway to Increase ticket prices by 20 percent this year

• Lao railway college all set to welcome first batch of 360 students in 2023

• New airport, Mekong port in Laos could divert revenue to China, officials say

• Laos, Thailand likely to construct new expressway in Savannakhet

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Proposed LRT linking Penang island to mainland to be undersea, says Kon Yeow

• ‘Deserted ghost town’: Johor Country Garden condo residents concerned over unfinished projects amid China developer’s debt crisis

• The 'sick' housing project crisis in Malaysia

• Autonomous Rapid Transit tram prototype to start test run in Kuching from September 4 to October 31, says state minister

🇲🇲 Myanmar

• China invests $21.863 bn in Myanmar, largest in electricity sector

🇵🇭 Philippines

• Government long-term view: Monetize NAIA, raise ₱7 trillion

• House panels endorse Bulacan Airport Economic Zone

• P6.1-T infrastructure projects eyed in Luzon

• Dredging persists in Cavite despite order suspending Manila Bay reclamation

• Shared bike-motorcycle lane on EDSA: Concerns raised over MMDA plans

• Platform screen doors to be installed in Metro Manila Subway, North-South Commuter Railway stations

• Cotabato airport reopens for private, military use only

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Tunnelling works completed for Phase 2 of Singapore's sewage 'superhighway'

• Singapore’s Changi Airports International signs deals to improve Cairo International Airport

🇹🇭 Thailand

• SRT to set up new company for high-speed trains in Northeast, and Northeast line upgrades to finish in 2024 Double-track trains set to travel faster

These are two separate railways in the same corridor. The high-speed railway is being built alongside the double-tracking of the current single-track metre-gauge railway. I have written about this here.

• Thai durian shipments to China surge as China-Laos Railway boosts trade

• Aerothai to help 39 airports boost capacity

• There are solutions for Ashton Asoke

• Pink Line monorail victim of fake news

“The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) has denied, as a fake news report, that it conducted a trial run for the Pink Line monorail system on August 15 and will open it for public trials between September and October.”

• Thailand energy group PTT to make e-motorbikes with Taiwan's Kymco

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Master plan for road section along Saigon River unveiled

• ‘Meaningful work’: Volunteers clean Ho Chi Minh City’s fetid canals by hand

• Hanoi needs strong financial resources to revive polluted rivers: expert

• Insight 2023/2024 - Vietnam’s water woes

• HCMC metro to have maiden trial run across entire line this month

• Da Lat- Thap Cham railway’s restoration to be completed by 2030

• Railway proposed to link Vung Ang to Laos

• Vietnam's tallest viaduct open for test run

• PM gives go ahead for new airport in Central Highlands

• Central province eyes coal conveyor to Laos

• More slums to be cleared from Hue Citadel