Big bridges of the Mekong Delta
Cambodia's (semi) high-speed rail aspirations, Indonesia's new capital is set to begin housing project while the current capital builds a seawall, and Bangkok's new central station officially opens
Hello from Ho Chi Minh City, and happy new lunar year! It’s the year of the cat in Vietnam, and Tết is taken seriously here. Many businesses take up to a week off work so people can go back to their home town to be with their families. Construction sites are usually closed for a week, as a large portion of workers come from the provinces (especially from the Mekong Delta). I was thus surprised to see reports of projects continuing through the holiday.
One of those projects is the topic of this week’s article - the big bridges of the Mekong Delta. I have plotted the bridges on a map, which gives an overview completed and future bridges.
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News
“Catalyzing people-centric smart city transformation in Southeast Asia”, by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
🇰🇭 Cambodia
• Koh Rong island to get $300 million airport
• Phnom Penh-Poipet high-speed rail line construction price tag at about $4 billion
A follow-up article mentions that the railway would be 160km/h, which is a semi-high-speed railway (like the Laos-China Railway). The government and media continue to use the phrase “high speed” incorrectly. To be fair, with the current railway averaging speeds of 30km/h, a 160km/h railway would seem high-speed.
🇮🇩 Indonesia
• LRT will be operational July 2023
• Gov’t pursues $10b MRT rail project connecting Balaraja, Cikarang
• Govt to break ground on $2.7b Nusantara housing project
• Jokowi orders immediate construction of giant sea wall
• Ciliwung River waterway construction to be completed by April: Jokowi
• Sumadi seeks faster completion of Maros-Mandai railway line
[Updated: Sulawesi Railway]
🇱🇦 Laos
• Govt. drops contractor constructing expressways in northern provinces
🇲🇾 Malaysia
• Skypark-KL Sentral rail link to be temporarily halted starting Feb 15
• Consider congestion charges to ease Penang jams: state rep
• Sungai Ara residents win final appeal to stop hillslope project
🇲🇲 Myanmar
• Myanmar military receives Japan aid for bridge construction
🇵🇭 Philippines
• Cavite and Samsung C&T set to sign $11-b Sangley contract
[Updated: Sangley Point International Airport]
• Target completion of PNR Clark Phase 2 moved to June 2025
• Philippines, JICA working on next tranches of financing for Metro Manila Subway project
• China-Philippines cooperation puts relations with Asean on a friendly footing in 2023
🇸🇬 Singapore
“An analysis of precarity, violence, and disregard for migrant life in Singapore.”
• Singapore's MRT network: How has it evolved and what will it look like by 2030?
• Singapore FM: No discussion to revive HSR during 4-day visit to Malaysia
• HDB completes largest number of flats and housing projects in last 5 years
• Tech billionaire’s loan to keep Singapore solar dream alive
• ‘The noise is terrible’: Residents say quality of life affected by North-South Corridor construction
🇹🇭 Thailand
• Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal (formerly Bang Sue Grand Station) is officially open. 52 long-distance services were transferred from Hua Lamphong Station from the 19th, and the new station began its first full day of operation on 20 January.
Krung Thep Aphiwat begins first full day as Thailand’s rail hub
SRT plans to buy new train engines after viral video reveals new station swirling in smoke
Probe of Bang Sue new logo concludes
"The "special" method used to hire a contractor for the nameplate and logo redesign of Bang Sue Grand Station was not appropriate, the probe into the issue has concluded."
• Pink Line expected to open 'this year'
• Finally! ‘New’ Bangkok park may open 4 years after it was finished
• Rayong residents seek B5bn for spill damage
“Lawsuit arising from 2022 pipeline leak targets Star Petroleum and PTTGC.”
• A search for land justice on Koh Lipe
🇻🇳 Vietnam
• Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line makes second trial run
• Battery errors, software glitches: some VinFast EV customers say they feel like guinea pigs
• The efforts to green Vietnam’s cement industry may be going to waste [$]
“The Vietnamese cement industry is burning waste for power to reduce its dependence on coal. But high costs, inefficient waste management, and its environmental impact are fuelling doubts about the technology.”
An update on the eroded beaches of Cửa Đại and An Bàng in Hoi an.
• Workers still on shift for Long Thanh airport construction during Tet