The Penang light rail project
The Penang light rail project
Pattaya monorail project delayed, Bangkok Chinatown facelift, Singapore's green plan, and more construction and infrastructure news in Southeast Asia.
This week I continue exploring the proposed regional transit systems of Southeast Asia. The state of Penang has several transport projects planned, starting with the Bayan Lepas LRT.
While putting this resource together I realised it’s now been over a year since I was last in Penang. I was there for the lunar new year in January 2020, just when the world was starting to realise that the mysterious super-contagious influenza in China might become a global issue. I ended up going to India and Thailand before returning to Vietnam.
Penang is one of my favourite places in Southeast Asia, and it’s on the shortlist of places I would retitre to if I had to make such a decision. As we enter the second year of the pandemic I’m not sure when I will be able to make my next annual visit. Once we can travel again, and if the light rail starts construction, I will go back and do a profile of what is being built near the stations (similar to the Line 1 HCMC Metro profile).
If you’re new to Living In Asia, here are the previous regional cities that have been covered that are planning a transit railway:
Indonesia
Thailand
Latest Posts at Living In Asia
Bayan Lepas LRT – The proposed Penang light rail connecting Georgetown to the airport
The Bayan Lepas LRT is the proposed Penang light rail transit system that will connect Georgetown in the north of the island to the airport at Bayan Lepas in the south.
Updated Posts
Laos
Added to China-Laos railway
Philippines
Piñol: Railway design 'not what Mindanawans asked for'
“The single-track design for the first phase of the Mindanao Railway Project (MRP) is "not what the Mindanawans were asking for," Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) Chairman Emmanuel Piñol said in a recent forum.”
Added to Mindanao Railway
Thailand
Pattaya monorail project delayed by plan to move high-speed train station out of city
“It’s back to the drawing board for the proposed Pattaya monorail project after the government suggested that a high-speed train linking the region’s three main airports would terminate in Huay Yai instead of Pattaya City.”
Added to Pattaya Monorail
“It could result in more earth being moved than both the Panama and the Suez canals combined - and it won’t pay for itself. Stevie Knight asks if the Thai Canal is still worth consideration?”
Added to The Thai Canal
Other News
Cambodia
New city for Sihanoukville ‘has immense potential’ for province
In Cambodia, this village shows even the wealthy are vulnerable to land grabbing
“While high-profile land grabbing disputes involving disempowered communities have made headlines in Cambodia in recent years, the case of Arey Ksat – a village of well-connected and wealthy residents near Phnom Penh – shows few are safe from the practice.”
Prey Veng authorities call to develop ‘Love Lake’ into major tourism site
How early megacities emerged from the jungles of Cambodia
“And how instability, climate, and neglect drove their slow collapse.”
China
Why cities will be the main battleground in China’s quest for carbon neutrality
Indonesia
Electric scooter maker Niu in talks to supply Gojek: CEO
Indonesian islands are not for sale, authorities say, after online listings cause controversy
Some photos of the new electric-powered Yogyakarta–Solo KRL Commuterline.
Philippines
San Sebastian Basilica: ‘Our problem is more than a photobomber’
“While some of the heritage buildings in the country are being refurbished and gaining new attention, one of which is the Metropolitan Theater in Manila City, the same cannot be said for San Sebastian Basilica. The historic church launched an online petition last January to stop the construction of a 31-story condominium behind it that, according to the church, poses danger to its site and community.”
DoTr starts work on engineering design of delayed Metro Manila BRT Line 1 project
No more delayed flights with NAIA infrastructure upgrade, says DOT
Singapore
Singapore unveils Green Plan 2030, outlines green targets for next 10 years
Thailand
Chinatown facelift aims to boost street food credibility
“…the 1.8-km-long stretch of road from the July 22 roundabout to Ratchawong Road will have its lanes reduced to three, as the pavement will be widened to accommodate street vendors and pedestrians…”
Thailand aims for electric vehicles to form 30% of car production to tackle pollution
“Despite the BMA's decision to delay a fare hike on electric trains, this form of public transport fails to remain a basic service within the grasp of the average city resident.”
Shutting down Hua Lamphong not a bright idea
Vietnam
Residents of dilapidated Saigon buildings live in limbo
In Vietnam, scores of people block new bridge to take photos
From District 1 I saw this new building development in District 7 all lit up like a Christmas tree. This is part of the future Hyatt Place development.
[View video on Instagram.]
You mention a "shortlist of places I would retitre to if I had to make such a decision" <-- please write about this shortlist, and also what factors are important for each of the places on the shortlist.