Future Southeast Asia News [29 Oct 2025]

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

Future Southeast Asia articles

Latest articles

• The last days of the DDR Apartments of Vinh

The Quang Trung housing complex in Vinh was built as a show of solidarity by the Deutsche Demokratische Republik. These historic apartments, now 50 years old, are being replaced.

• Phu Quoc Metro

I keep a list of proposed urban rail transit projects in Southeast Asia, and Phu Quoc has now joined the club of proposals.

Most of these projects have been proposed for years, and some are so unrealistic that they will never be built. Phu Quoc also sounds unrealistic, but they have set a hard deadline of completing in time for the APEC meeting in 2027(!), so I have made a factsheet to keep track of the project.

Recent articles

• Batam, not Bali, should be the financial hub of Indonesia

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News

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Excavation of Techo Funan Canal will begin late 2025; when water levels recede [The Phnom Penh Post]

• Funan Techo Canal tourism: Development Vs environmental protection [Kiripost]

• Planes, prayers, and a golden Buddha: Inside Cambodia’s $2 billion airport gamble [CNN Travel]

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• High-speed rail debt poses first test for Indonesia’s Danantara (archive) [Bloomberg]

"The sovereign wealth fund will lead negotiations for the debt restructuring of Whoosh, the country's first high-speed rail."

• KPK launches probe into alleged corruption in Indonesia's high-speed train project [Tempo]

• Nusantara: the city that never was [New Mandala]

"Too big to fail, and too big to succeed, Jokowi’s new capital city eventually came to be pushed forward by little more than the former president’s need to justify its existence."

• Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara, in danger of becoming a ‘ghost city’ [The Guardian]

• Turning rubbish into electricity: Indonesia to build huge incinerators to shrink landfill needs [The Straits Times]

🇱🇦 Laos

• Luang Prabang International Airport set for major upgrade under public–private partnership [The Laotian Times]

• Pakse International Airport undergoes major renovation, expansion [The Laotian Times]

One of the most interesting flights I have taken in Southeast Asia is the Lao Airlines service from Vientiane to Ho Chi Minh City via Pakse. I'm overdue for a revisit to Pakse, which would include a trip to the Sithandone SEZ.

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Chow: Penang International Airport expansion project progressing steadily [New Straits Times]

• Better walkways ahead for Malaysia (archive) [The Star]

• Penang unveils Green Tech Park, Silicon Island’s flagship smart city [Business Today]

• Urban Forest initiative heralds Kedah's 'city within a park' vision [New Straits Times]

“Kedah has embarked on an "Urban Forest" initiative in line with its vision of transforming towns and cities across the state into "cities within a park", aimed at creating a greener and more sustainable urban landscape.“

• Massive BCCK 2 expected to be ready ahead of schedule [Kuching Borneo]

"The completion date of the new Borneo Convention Centre Kuching 2 (known best as BCCK 2) has been brought forward."

 🇵🇭 Philippines

• DOTr begins demolition works in Ortigas for subway [The Philippine Star]

• Sweden grants $1.3 million for Philippines railway study [The Philippine Star]

"Sweden is providing $1.3 million in grant funding to support the feasibility study of the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas (SCMB) Railway, the flagship project of the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC)."

• I don't need a car—I need the country to have a better transportation system [PhilSTAR Life]

• Guv slams Frasco’s proposal for new Sogod airport [Sunstar]

"Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro has dismissed as “ridiculous” the proposal of Cebu Fifth District Representative Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco to construct another international airport in Cebu, this time in the northern town of Sogod."

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Investors told to convert existing buildings as co-living demand rises [Singapore Business Review]

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Thailand plans U-Tapao–Trat high-speed rail to unlock eastern tourism routes [Pattaya Mail]

• Pattaya Mayor pushes forward Green Line monorail project [Khaosod English]

Phuket plans major transport overhaul to slash Airport-to-Patong travel to 20 minutes [Pattaya Mail]

🇹🇱 Timor-Leste

• Timor-Leste officially joins ASEAN, completing Southeast Asia's geographical representation [Bernama]

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• PM orders ground-breaking for Lào Cai–Hà Nội–Hải Phòng Railway in December [Viet Nam News]

• Urban rail takes center stage in Hanoi’s US$53-billion plan to ease congestion [Hanoi Times]

• New airport near Hanoi to cost $7.5B [VnExpress]

"The cost of the under-construction Gia Binh International Airport near Hanoi is estimated to be at VND196.37 trillion (US$7.5 billion) following the recently approved upgrades to it."

• Property firm Masterise proposes developing Ho Chi Minh City’s metro line No. 3 [Tuoi Tre News]

• One of Ho Chi Minh City's most congested roads to be widened in $112M upgrade [VnExpress]

• Danang plans metro line between Hoi An and airport [The Saigon Times]

• A Mekong Delta city’s fight against flooding (part 1) [Mekong Eye]

"Infrastructure that cost hundreds of millions of US dollars still leaves many parts of Cần Thơ under water."

News tips

News articles of interest to Future Southeast Asia readers can be shared on the Future Southeast Asia News Facebook Group. Join the group to read and discuss the articles.

If you would prefer to discuss a project privately, contact me at:

futuresoutheastasia @ gmail . com.

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James Clark (LinkedIn)