Southeast Asia transport and construction news (#247)

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

Greetings from Can Tho in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Can Tho is the largest city in the Mekong Delta, and it’s famous for its floating market. I’ve been to the market before, and it’s worth seeing before new bridges and roads make the river market redundant.

I’m here to see new developments around the city, including a new urban area called Kita Airport City. Anyone who has been following Future Southeast Asia for long enough will know that I have a grim fascination with new urban areas. This one in Can Tho already breaks 2 rules that I think make better new urban areas:

1) Don’t name a new urban area after the developer

2) Don’t build hundreds of cookie-cutter shophouses when there is no demand for them.

A report for Can Tho will be published once I get through my backlog of other reports. I’m on the road for the next month so publishing will be limited. The annual airports report will be going out in the next week for paid subscribers.

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News

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• Better plans are needed for mitigating the ecological impacts of Cambodia's Funan Techo Canal

• Chak Angre Krom-Prek Pra concrete bridge construction project is 16 percent complete

• Preah Sihanouk poised to become key ASEAN hub within 15 years

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• Indonesia Spends $2.69 Billion for Development of Future Capital Nusantara

🇱🇦 Laos

• New Lao-Thai bridge close to completion

• Cargo throughput of China-Laos Railway exceeds 50 mln tons

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Malaysia, Singapore announce Johor special economic zone deal

• KL-Singapore HSR revival faces uphill battle due to funding hurdles

• Gemas-JB electric railway tracks set to complete by third quarter this year, says Loke

• Malaysia’s ECRL progress recapped: Latest updates, station details and why it matters

• Build Butterworth link at same time as main LRT line, says Penang CM

• Penang pays RM11.7mil to fishermen affected by Silicon Island project

• Putrajaya mulls funding controversial Penang highway project

"The 19.5km PIL 1 is a proposed highway that would tunnel through the hill ranges of Penang Island connecting Gurney Drive to Bayan Lepas."

 🇵🇭 Philippines

• Budget slash final: DOTr funds reduced by P92 billion

"The Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) budget for 2025 has been cut to nearly half of its proposed amount, shrinking from P180.14 billion to a mere P87.24 billion."

• Roads, railways support needed for airport upgrades — analysts

• Government to redesign LRT-1 Cavite line

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Three new MRT stations to link Downtown Line from Bukit Panjang to North-South Line by 2035

• Project to deliver Singapore’s ‘second sports hub’ breaks ground

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Transport Ministry to push priority projects

“Red Line, double-track work to begin 'soon'“

• Flyover shut for Orange Line build

• Bangkok explores new ways to curb harmful dust particles

• Thai firms partner to launch innovative low-carbon concrete

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien metro line sees passenger numbers triple initial targets

• HCMC to have metro line from downtown to coastal district Can Gio

• Fines increased 10-fold for motorcyclists riding on sidewalks

• Hà Nội metro project sees 647m of tunnels completed thus far

• Hanoi plans to transform into a global hub by 2045

“Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has approved adjustments to Hanoi’s master plan, aiming for the city to become a globally connected hub with high living standards and a development level on par with the capitals of developed countries in the region and worldwide by 2045.”

Hanoi also needs to devise a plan to combat pollution. This week, it was the most polluted city in the world. Delhi often tops the list of most polluted cities in the world, and this fact is reported so frequently that Delhi is associated with pollution. The pollution in Hanoi made international news, and if this keeps happening then Hanoi will also be associated with pollution and a place to avoid. There has been talk, so let’s hope that action is taken.

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