Santa brings a subway to Saigon

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

Merry Christmas from Saigon. For those who celebrate, Christmas came early this week when the years-delayed HCMC Metro finally opened on 22 December.

I have been watching this line be built since 2012, so I wanted to be here on the opening day. I have a metro guide that I’m working on, and I posted my review of the opening day here:

Line 1 of the HCMC Metro officially opened

Thanks for reading and being. a subscriber to Future Southeast Asia in 2024. I will head for the coast this week for my end-of-year review and plan for the year ahead. I look forward to bringing more news about transport and urban development in Southeast Asia in 2025!

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News

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Techo International Airport set to officially open in July 2025

• Dara Sakor airport in SW Cambodia to begin operation for domestic charter flights

• Government set out priority sectors for public-private partnership projects

• PM directs feasibility study for bridge linking Akreiy Ksatr to Koh Norea

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Nusantara authority shifts focus to construction of legislative office buildings, Supreme Court

• Bali's $20bn subway project mired in uncertainty as traffic worsens

• Construction of LRT Jakarta Phase 1B Capai 39.83 percent as of December

🇱🇦 Laos

• Korea funds bridge, road safety upgrades on national road in Laos

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Transport minister says Malaysia’s ECRL to be run ‘50-50’ by new joint-venture with China

• MRCB withdraws from Berjaya-led consortium for KL-SG HSR project

• Sabah urgently needs a modern transit system

• Miri City blessed with two major devt projects in 2024

 🇲🇲 Myanmar

• Construction Minister inspects progress of Myanmar-Korea Friendship (Dala) Bridge

🇵🇭 Philippines

• PHL ODA funding hits $5.67 billion in 2024

"The Philippines obtained $5.67 billion worth of official development assistance (ODA) this year, which it applied to big-ticket flagship infrastructure projects, the Department of Finance (DoF) said."

• PHL obtains $501M in ADB funding to boost job quality, infra support 

• Mindanao Railway Project Phase 3 study to be completed by Q1

• Philippine Railways Institute marks 5th anniversary, Japan's pledges continued support

🇸🇬 Singapore

• LTA to build another 60km of cycling paths in Bukit Merah, Bukit Timah, city areas by 2029

• Carbon emissions from land in S’pore projected to rise, pointing to more deforestation on the cards

🇹🇭 Thailand

• High-speed rail projects face setbacks

"The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Board has approved extending three contracts under the Thai Chinese high-speed rail project by up to two years, citing difficulties from land expropriation and the relocation of oil pipelines."

• A proposed tunnel near Pattaya will delay highspeed rail network to Bangkok

• SRT to buy 182 new air-con train cars for B10 billion

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Vietnam to start construction of new railway linking with China by end-2025

• Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat airport terminals to be completed in 2025: investor ACV

• Resolution on construction of North-South high-speed railway issued

• Motorbikes will remain Vietnam's primary means of transport for another 20 years

• UNESCO to study development risks to Vietnam's Ha Long Bay

• Vietnam rebuts rumor of Ha Long Bay being removed from UNESCO World Heritage List

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