Thailand's land bridge alternative to the Kra Canal

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

Hello from Ho Chi Minh City. I’m here until the weekend, and then I take the train to Nha Trang.

For this week’s main article, I cover the proposed Land Bridge in Thailand. I have often wondered how it would work to ship thousands of containers across the peninsula, so this article looks into the size of ships and how many trains it would take to do what they propose.

Latest posts at Future Southeast Asia

• Why the Thai Land Bridge is a bad idea

The Thai Land Bridge was proposed as an alternative to the Thai Canal. Here’s why it’s a bad idea.

News Extra

News Extra for paid subscribers, which expands on news stories and some insights into what I am working on.

• News Extra: 21 March 2024

SGN airport update, an auspicious day for infrastructure openings in Vietnam, and the supposed coolest streets in Southeast Asia.

News

• China is trying to connect Southeast Asia by high-speed rail. Here’s how that’s going

• Inadequate airport-rail connectivity in Southeast Asia impacting aviation and sustainability

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Cambodia’s ambitious Funan Techo Canal project sparks concerns near and far

• Mekong electrification $600M project gets first tranche of $120M

• ​Battambang airport set to expand for int’l flights, tourist revival​

“The long-defunct Battambang Provincial Airport is slated to come back bigger and stronger, as the authorities work not just to reopen the historic facility but to expand it to the “4C” category, making it capable of accepting international fights.

The airport has not been in service for more than three decades.”

• The intensification of Sino-Cambodian relations: Geostrategy beyond infrastructural development?

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• President Jokowi inaugurates West Kalimantan's Singkawang Airport

• Jokowi officiates 147 km regional roads in Central Sulawesi

• China’s construction for Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara to lead growing overseas city-building portfolio

• Indonesia’s e-bike shops are building their own batteries

🇱🇦 Laos

• Australia joins World Bank to support Laos’ land-linked agenda

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Three consortia believed to be on shortlist for KL-Singapore HSR project

• ECRL more than 60% complete, says Malaysia Rail

• MAHB to continue operating country's 39 airports for next 45 years, says Loke

• 8,000 jobs expected to be created once Subang airport regeneration plan completed

• PDC to breathe new life into Komtar

“Komtar, Penang's prime shopping centre in the 1980s and 1990s, has lost its appeal over the years. And the only thing keeping Komtar alive is the fact that it houses the administrative offices of the Penang government and the chief minister, aside from the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC).”

• Sim floats idea of rail linking Bintulu to Nusantara

• KKIA relocation a must, no room for expansion

• Malaysia's $100 billion ghost town really wants to draw in tourists. It's not working.

 🇲🇲 Myanmar

• Myanmar junta seeks loan for Muse-Mandalay railroad project from China

🇵🇭 Philippines

• Recto suggests converting NAIA into next BGC once Bulacan airport is finished

“Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has raised the possibility of converting the 600-hectare Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) complex into a business district once the new airport being built in Bulacan is finished.”

• Senate approves bill creating Bulacan ecozone 

“The project will host the new international airport being built by San Miguel Corporation as part of efforts to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila.”

• Philippines, Japan sign ¥150-B third tranche loan for Metro Manila subway

• Low subsidy forces LRTA to cut budget for train rehab

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Commentary: Could distance-based road pricing make Singapore's COE system fairer? | Video

• Heat stress could sap $1.7 billion a year from Singapore economy by 2035: study

• A ‘vital niche’, but flagging a cab is getting harder

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Cabinet to review Red Line upgrade

“…the ministry will submit the proposals for the construction of three extensions this week, namely the Taling Chan-Salaya extension, Rangsit-Thammasat University, Rangsit Campus extension and the Taling Chan-Siriraj extension.”

• Airport Rail Link due for big overhaul to ensure passenger safety

• Thai ports bemoan competitive decline as Srettha pushes 'land bridge'

• “Walkable City” Revitalizing the economy, enhancing quality of life

• Bangkok Airways buys 15% stake in U-Tapao, Eastern Airport from BTS

• Nakhon Ratchasima eyes air force base for commercial flights

• One Bangkok: Grand business centre will be open in October

• Public outcry over abandoned cables amid infrastructure overhaul in Pattaya

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Proposed 350 km/h high-speed railway for passenger transport

• Decreased commercial plane numbers force airlines to reduce flight frequency

• Construction rush blamed for Long Thanh airport dust pollution