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Transport and urban development in Southeast Asia. Dispatches from my travels in the region, and news about future city development, transport, and infrastructure.

News: 24 August 2022

Update from Nha Trang in Vietnam, 3 proposed urban railways in provincial cities that I would never have guessed where, and more construction and transport news in Southeast Asia.

James Clark

Aug 24, 2022

Hello from Nha Trang. I wasn’t expecting to be here at the start of this month, but I will embrace this detour to the wonderful South Central Coast of Vietnam. I was last in Nha Trang two years ago, so I have compiled a construction update for the city.

This week’s news includes proposals for three urban rail transit systems. They probably won’t happen, but they are officially proposed so they will be added to the map of urban rail transit systems of Southeast Asia. I haven’t added them to the map yet, so if you want to try and guess where they are, they are provincial/state capitals in three different countries.

There are so many news links this week that I hope this email isn’t truncated in your inbox I am thinking about how to present this newsletter in the future to spread the news load, so stay tuned for some changes.

Latest Posts At Future Southeast Asia

• Nha Trang construction update – 2022 edition

News

• India eager for expansion of trilateral highway to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam

• Developing Asia spoiled for infrastructure choice

“…DoTr Secretary Jaime Bautista also asked the Public-Private Partnership Center to help finance the P100-million project preparation feasibility study for the first phase of the Cagayan de Oro Metropolitan Railway.”

• Philippines sees China as ‘best option’ for 3 rail projects

• SPIA bags $11-B Sangley airport contract

• Lawmakers want Mindanao Railway Project probed over right-of-way issues

[Updated: Mindanao Railway Project]

• NCCA stops demolition of Capitol Theater

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Paya Lebar Air Base’s relocation will allow redevelopment of Hougang, Marine Parade, Punggol

• Big plans for Changi Airport T5 take off

• Thomson-East Coast Line phase 3 scheduled to open by late 2022

• NDR 2022: Tuas Port will be world’s largest fully automated port when completed in 20 years

• Part of concrete canal at Tampines turned into naturalised river with rain gardens & lookout decks

• Singapore to be Asia’s millionaire capital by 2030, HSBC says

• How a fire built Singapore

“A pivotal point in HDB's success.”

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Cabinet approves B2.92bn EV subsidy package

• Unused land faces state seizure

• The MY-SG high speed rail project may be revived and include Thailand!

[Updated: Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur High-Speed Railway]

• Fresh push for Loei cable car

• Bangkok manhole covers to form ‘tourism map’ of Chinatown

Bangkok is getting some inspiration from the manhole covers of Japan.

🇹🇱 Timor-Leste

• Timor-Leste warns it will work with China if Australia insists on pumping Timor Sea gas to Darwin

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• S Korea railroad institute to research green traffic project in Thua Thien-Hue

I haven’t found many mentions of this proposal for a tramway in Hue, though it is an early proposal so don’t get too excited. This video shows a tram arriving at the Hue Railway Station. There is also a transit map shown in the video, of which I am looking for the original copy.

• Vietnam is growing at 7%. Hanoi can do a lot better.

“Frustratingly slow infrastructure buildup puts catching up to China out of its grasp.”

• Lotte's Shin Dong-bin visiting Vietnam to attend groundbreaking

"Shin, who is currently in Japan, will depart for Vietnam at the end of this month to attend a groundbreaking ceremony set for Sept. 2. The Thu Thiem Eco Smart City project is led by Lotte E&C in Ho Chi Minh City."

The Thu Thiem Eco Smart City was supposed to break ground in 2015, but the project had assumed it could demolish the Thu Thiem Church that sits next to the Saigon River. The church refused to move, and they are now a designated historic relic. Lotte went back to the drawing board to revise the plan without the riverfront blocks. This is what it will look like…