Khon Kaen - A future transport hub of Northeast Thailand

How a proposed light rail transit and east-west railway could turn Khon Kaen into a provincial powerhouse.

June 10, 2020

Greetings from Ho Chi Minh City! Here is this week’s feature article, and other news about construction and transport in Asia.

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Khon Kaen Transit System – The proposed light rail transit (LRT) in Khon Kaen

Bangkok has been busy expanding and improving its metro transit system, but it’s worth looking at what is happening in the provincial cities of Thailand. Chiang Mai is planning a transit system, and Khon Kaen is planning a light rail which might become the first rail transit system in Thailand outside of Bangkok.

The city of Khon Kaen is known as one of "big four of Isan", alongside Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Ubon Ratchathani.

Nakhon Ratchasima is the biggest city in Isaan (the Northeast region of Thailand), and it also has a plan for a light rail. Khon Kaen though might be able to position itself as the transport hub of Northeast Thailand if all the planned railways go ahead.

Khon Kaen is on the line that will connect Bangkok to Vientiane (and onwards to China), so it will eventually have a high-speed connection to Bangkok. It’s also on the route of the East-West Economic Corridor. If that railway is built it would elevate Khon Kaen as one of the most important transport hubs in Thailand.

The light rail has been proposed by a private local consortium, who became fed up with decades of neglect by Bangkok. With a population of 120,000, Khon Kaen would not be on the governments priority list of urban transit development.

If the light rail is built it could be a costly endeavour for the city, or it could fuel migration to the city from Bangkok.

In the future I will do a profile for every proposed provincial transit system.

Southeast Asia Railways

“The government is expecting to receive the shortlist of bidders for the first phase of the China-funded Mindanao railway from the Chinese Embassy within the month, a transport official said.”

“Special report: Bang Sue Central Station set to open next year.”

“The government is considering including Japan in Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC), an Indonesia-China consortium to develop the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, as Indonesia seeks to expedite and expand the national strategic project, a senior minister has said.”

“Construction of the Laos-China railway was 89.43 percent complete as of the end of May with Lao authorities calling for the project developer to progress work according to plan.”

Other News

Cambodia

“Poipet PP Special Economic Zone – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone Plc. – is aiming to become a higher value-added production hub, particularly for electronics, mechanical and automotive parts, according to its Chief Executive Officer.”

“Construction of a second passenger terminal between now and 2030, extending the airport’s runway by 800 metres to 3,300 metres, a new taxiway and additional aircraft stands are the key projects of Phase 1 of the new development plan.”

China

“Outlining what it calls a "new era" for China's cities, a circular issued by the country's housing ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission earlier this year also proposes other sweeping measures to ensure buildings "embody the spirit" of their surroundings and "highlight Chinese characteristics."”

Indonesia

“The government has vowed to continue the development of national strategic projects during the COVID-19 health crisis with the addition of 89 new projects of an estimated Rp 1.422 quadrillion in investment value.”

Laos

“Laos’ quinquennial National Party Congress is coming up in 2021, but the prospects for meaningful change look slimmer and slimmer.”

Malaysia

Philippines

“The P30-billion Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEx), one of the country’s largest infrastructure projects that is expected to ease the worsening traffic in Metro Cebu and help spur economic growth in the Visayas, is now more than halfway complete, its developer said.”

“The local government of Manila on Monday broke ground for “Tondominium” 1 and 2  — two public housing projects aimed at providing decent housing to residents “living in the middle of the streets” for decades.”

Thailand

“Gold Line tipped to boost city area's fortunes in wake of Covid-19.”

“In what would be a stinging loss many years in the making, business insiders said yesterday that Scala theater, which had been living on borrowed time for much of the past decade, is ceasing operations due to financial losses during the pandemic.”

“Images on the Facebook page of Pattaya City reveal plans for a major re-imagining and makeover of one of the resort’s most notable, and notorious, landmarks – Walking Street.”

Vietnam

This week Asia Sentinel has published two insightful articles by David Brown (a retired former US diplomat) on corruption in HCMC. Both articles go some way to explaining why there are abandoned construction projects, especially in the new urban area that was meant to be a financial hub of Southeast Asia.

“The Life and Times of Le Thanh Hai.”

“Vietnam’s most dynamic city struggles to shake fetters of corruption, misdevelopment.”

“While white-collar workers enjoy air-conditioned offices, the ongoing heatwave presents a set of challenges for people who spend their "office" hours outdoors, including construction workers in Da Nang.”

I was in Da Nang last week and this thought crossed my mind as I had to take a break from visiting construction sites. As someone who worked in outdoor labouring jobs in Australia, I have complete respect for these workers.

Here is a photo gallery of the Ben Thanh Station in HCMC. This station will have 3 lines intersecting here, making it one of the biggest metro interchanges in Southeast Asia.

“The Vietnamese government has approved the planning of a hi-tech eco-friendly area in Hanoi that could host 600,000 people by 2030.”

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