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Thailand expects to complete its first high-speed rail network linking the country to China through Laos in 2030, a long-delayed project officials have touted as key to furthering bilateral relations and trade between the two nations.
The construction of the first phase linking Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima province is currently at about 36% completion, Jirayu Houngsub, the government’s spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday. The design for the second phase that will extend the rail line to the northeastern border province of Nong Khai has been finalized and is ready to be submitted to the cabinet for approval, he said.
In all, the rail line is 609 kilometers (378 miles) long and is estimated to cost 434 billion baht ($12.9 billion). The Thai network will be connected to the Laos-China line via a bridge built over the Mekong River.
Thailand is looking to improve its connectivity with China, its biggest trading partner, as Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy struggles to match the pace of the growth of its regional peers. Beyond trade, the two nations are also forging closer tourism ties as both countries last year waived tourist visas for their citizens.
Once operational, the Thailand-Laos rail network will make it possible to travel from Bangkok to China’s capital via stops in Vientiane and the southern Chinese city of Kunming, where there is a separate semi-high speed service to Beijing.
Thailand started the construction of the high-speed rail network in 2017 under the Chinese government’s Belt and Road Initiative, according to the project’s website. The Thai government is responsible for entire project investment, civil works construction, and application of Chinese construction technologies and railway systems.
The first phase of the project being built at an estimated cost of 179 billion baht is expected to start operation in 2027.
The Laos and Thailand segments are seen by many as the start of infrastructure that will directly connect China with much of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Singapore. Laos opened a rail line in 2021 that cost the landlocked country nearly $6 billion to link with China.
