Greetings from Danang! I was last here late last year when the city was still cleaning up after a historic flood. It’s good to be back here when the sun is shining.

I have been cruising around on a motorbike to compile a body count of abandoned hotels, and there are many along the coast. I posted an update on Linkedin, which I’m using for updates and random link posting instead of Twitter. Follow me here.

A Danang report will be out for paid subscribers next week.

Latest posts at Future Southeast Asia

• Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge

The Bataan–Cavite Interlink Bridge is a proposed bridge across Manila Bay. If all goes to plan, construction will begin in 2024. The bridge is inspired by the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line (the bridge-tunnel combination that crosses Tokyo Bay). There will be no tunnel, but it does the same job as the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line by bypassing a megacity for inter-provincial travel. It will also be the longest bridge in Southeast Asia.

Tokyo is a good model for Manila to follow. They need to build a Tokyo-style railway for the city, and removing through traffic from Metro Manila would be another layer of useful infrastructure.

Dispatches from Southeast Asia

• Quy Nhon: The best and worst of urban development in Vietnam in one city

My 2023 trip report for Quy Nhon, the city that could be the next big thing in Vietnam.

News

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Cambodia’s turn to raise eyebrows over infrastructure projects

“Up to $30 billion in financing is potentially on the table – most of it from China.”

• Cambodia seeks new financing from Beijing amid fears of ‘debt trap’

• Filling Cambodian lakes with sand creates pricey new land. It also displaces families.

• Grumblings of disquiet on Koh Rong Sanloem over sudden evictions

• Techo International Airport construction progress on track

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Sustainability blueprint for Jakarta and its suburbs

• Indonesia’s virtual capital

“In the online version of Nusantara, nobody can hear you protest.”

• Erick Thohir's staffer predict high-speed rail to be in demand as panoramic train

• Bali residents left confused after road improvements built for G20 are dismantled

🇱🇦 Laos

• Khamsavath train station complete, ready for opening

• Villagers in the dark even as preparations start for building the Pak Lay Dam in Laos

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Cabinet has given nod for Subang airport revamp, says Transport Minister

• Exco: Land clearing in Selangor State Park done for ECRL project

• Kerjaya Prospek to build a 31-storey apartment building for BBCC

• Stem the tide of erosion

“Malaysia could potentially lose its beautiful beaches if coastal erosion continues at its current rate, says an ecotourism group.”

• Iconic Rex Cinema building in Penang to be torn down

• Dilapidated railway station in Sabah turns to ‘dust’

🇵🇭 Philippines

• Joint venture deal inked for Sangley airport project

• NEDA approves ₱17-B Dumaguete airport

• Wanted: Private operators for NAIA, subway

• Is the Mindanao Railway derailed?

• LTFRB: Jeepney phaseout to push through by April

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Anwar Ibrahim’s visit signals Malaysia-Singapore ties remain on an even keel

“Ties remain strong but occasional frictions such as Pedra Branca island and the cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore rail project remain.”

• JCube will be closed from Aug. 7, 2023, to make way for 40-storey residential development

• Bus, train usage continues to recover in S’pore; 2022 ridership at 83% of pre-pandemic peak

• Commentary: Singapore must clear the roadblocks for driverless cars

• Sembcorp opens S-E Asia’s largest energy storage system on Jurong Island to boost solar power supply

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Bangkok is still sinking, and fast!

“Urban planning and city development are crucial for making the capital more climate resilient, experts say.”

• Land prices surge amid urban growth

• Thailand kick-starts delayed THB276.5-billion rail project to link 3 airports

• Bangkok’s plan to switch private transit buses to electric approved

• Companies line up to build Patong Tunnel

• Corruption questions raised over failed Phuket construction projects

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Stuck in the mud: reviving the fortunes of Thu Thiem

“Once expected to be the Pudong of Vietnam, after more than a decade of slow development the Thu Thiem area of Ho Chi Minh City is not close to fulfilling its potential, with incomplete plans galore.”

• “Mercedes in two years?” Grab workers’ mounting discontent and wildcat strikes in Vietnam

• Hanoi-Quang Ninh railway project under reconsideration

“The Ministry of Transport is going to reconsider the Yen Vien - Pha Lai - Ha Long - Cai Lan railway project in 2024 after it has been suspended for nearly 20 years due to investment problems.”

• Hanoi’s first metro line faces fine of over $740,000 for late loan payment

• New bidding launched to find Long Thanh airport builder

• HCMC proposes building parking lots on empty land

• Work begins on bridge linking Hai Phong and Quang Ninh

Future Southeast Asia

The Tokyo Bay Bridge of Southeast Asia