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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.

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

James Clark

Jan 25, 2023

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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🇰🇭 Cambodia

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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.

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🇹🇭 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.

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• 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

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• The efforts to green Vietnam’s cement industry may be going to waste [$]

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• The erosion of a dream by

Couchfish

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• Workers still on shift for Long Thanh airport construction during Tet

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