BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand expects its 609-km (378 miles) portion of a high-speed railway that will connect it with China through Laos to begin operations in 2030, its government said on Wednesday, nearly a decade later than originally planned.
More than a third of construction has been completed in the segment connecting the capital Bangkok to the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, about 220 km away and the whole line to Nong Khai at the border with Laos would be ready by 2030, said Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub.
A $6 billion, 1000 km rail line from the Laotian capital Vientiane to the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming began service in 2021, a venture 70% owned by Beijing. That line will connect with Thailand’s Nong Khai via Vientiane, about 25 km away.
“This is an opportunity for Thailand to connect to the global economy,” Jirayu said, adding it would bring Thailand closer to its goal of becoming a logistics hub.
The announcement comes a year after China urged Thailand to progress faster on the rail link.
Discussions on the rail line started nearly two decades ago and Thailand and China signed agreements on its construction in 2017 with plans to begin operations in 2021. But construction met delays over disagreements on financing and design, and disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road trade and infrastructure initiative, which includes plans for three routes originating in Kunming that pass through Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
Vietnam plans to build a 1,541 km (958-mile) high-speed rail line linking its two biggest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, at a cost of more than $67 billion, targeting the start of operations in 2035. It also plans a $7.2 billion railway from its border with China’s Yunnan province to Hanoi, the port city of Haiphong and Ha Long City.
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng, Editing by Martin Petty)
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