[Tlc] TL-new rail link

[justinm at ucr.edu]

See three stories below.
Thanks,
justin

2008-0330 - Xinhua - Work to start on new Thai-Lao bridge

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/30/content_7885606.htm

Work to start on new Thai-Lao bridge
www.chinaview.cn 2008-03-30 20:21:15

BANGKOK, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Construction of a new Thai-Lao bridge, aimed at boosting trade and tourism among Thailand, Laos and China, was expected to start in the middle of this year, a senior Thai Transport Ministry official said on Sunday.

Piyapan Champasut, deputy permanent secretary for transport, said after visiting the planned construction site of the new bridge that his ministry would give details of the construction which could start in mid 2008.

Total investment in the construction was estimated at 1 billion baht (32 million U.S. dollars) of which the Thai and Chinese governments would foot the bill equally, Piyapan said.

The new bridge - to link Thailand's northern province of Chiang Rai with Laos' Huayxai province - is expected to open in 2011. The bridge will serve to link northern Thailand with Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, passing through Laos.

The planned opening of the new bridge in 2011 would facilitate a second port in Chiang Saen district of Chiang Rai, due to open at around the same time, and would help boost trade between the three countries in the future, said Piyapan.

The new bridge will also assist roads now under construction, from Chiang Khong district in Chiang Rai to Luang Nam Tha in Laos and on to Kunming. The total distance of the roads is about 1,500 km.




2008-0331 - BKK Post - PM pledges B900m for Thai-Laos rail link

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/31Mar2008_news05.php

FOREIGN RELATIONS

PM pledges B900m for Thai-Laos rail link

Line to extend from border to Vientiane

ANUCHA CHAROENPO

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is shown around Thanaleng railway station in Laos, where he promised financial support for a short railway link between Vientiane and the border township.
VIENTIANE : Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej yesterday pledged 900 million baht of additional financial assistance to Laos for the construction of a nine-kilometre railway track from Thanaleng, on the Thai border, to the Lao capital here.

''I will return to Thailand to discuss the matter with the government's legal officials. I think there is a high possibility of it and this is not too difficult for the Thai government to help with,'' the prime minister said.

Mr Samak's statement came while he was visiting the Thanaleng railway station to monitor the progress of the line's construction before attending the two-day Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) summit of six government leaders.

The talks bring together the prime ministers of Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos and Vietnam.

Thanaleng town is opposite Nong Khai and is the site of the first Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge.

The prime minister said the rail link extension, once completed, will help facilitate the transport of Thai and Lao people and goods between the two countries.

Lao Ambassador to Thailand Ouan Phommachack welcomed Mr Samak's idea.

''We will wait and see whether the Thai government will really be able to push for the matter. We will discuss it later to see what types of financial aid is available,'' he said.

The planned rail link extension project, including the construction costs, is now being studied by the French Development Agency, which is expected to finish the assessment shortly.

The Thai government gave Laos a soft loan and a grant of 197 million baht to construct the 3.5km railway from the middle of the bridge to Thanaleng.

The Thanaleng railway station connects with Nong Khai station. It is expected to open in May after 18 months of construction, which is set to end on April 24.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra initiated the project to give financial aid to Thailand's neighbouring countries to held them develop their infrastructure.

Yesterday Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat signed a joint traffic agreement with Lao Public Works and Transport Minister Sommath Pholsena to pave the way for the operation of a train service to carry passengers and goods after the rail link is opened.

Today, Mr Samak will try to persuade other Mekong leaders to back his plan to build a loop road to link their countries.

He said the Thailand-initiated project could be completed in three years if it receives backing from all the countries in the Mekong subregion.

He said Thailand had already contacted 10 construction companies from Japan, Germany and the US.

''The road link project will help connect all the countries in the Mekong region,'' he said.

The proposed road would likely start in Tak province and lead to Rangoon, Mandalay and Kengtung in Burma, Jinghong in China and then to Vietnam and Siem Reap in Cambodia, he said.

The GMS, initiated by the Asian Development Bank in 1992 to increase economic cooperation and eradicate poverty in the six countries that share the Mekong, is focussed on the development of transport links and infrastructure.

© Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2008
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2008-0331 - Xinhua - Route completed linking S China with N Thailand via Laos

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/31/content_7892681.htm

Route completed linking S China with N Thailand via Laos
www.chinaview.cn 2008-03-31 17:25:44

Special report: Premier Wen visits Laos, attends GMS Summit
VIENTIANE, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of from the six Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries attended here Monday a ceremony for the completion of Route 3 along the GMS North-South Economic Corridor (NSEC), which will create more business opportunities and provide people with easier access to social services.

The Kunming-Chiang Khong road in the NSEC (Route 3 in Laos), which links China's Yunnan province with northern Thailand via Laos, is the last remaining stretch of road in an overland route joining China's Beijing and Singapore.

Route 3 passes through 94 villages and towns in Laos' poor, northwest region with a total length of 220 kilometers. The total cost of Route 3 in Laos is 97 million U.S. dollars, to which China, Thailand, and the Asian Development Bank contributed 30 million dollars each.

At the ceremony, Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh said he thanked the financial assistance of the Chinese and Thai governments in construction of the route.

Also on March 31, the prime ministers from the six countries sharing the Mekong River -- Laos, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand -- witnessed a completion ceremony of phase one of the GMS Information Superhighway Project, the signing of an memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the road-map for implementing the GMS cross-border power trading, and the inking of another MOU toward the sustainable and balanced development of the GMS North-South Economic Corridor and enhanced organizational effectiveness for developing economic corridors in the sub-region.

During the 3rd GMS Summit in Vientiane from March 30-31, the six leaders and representatives from the bank touched upon connectivity and competitiveness issues such as the establishment of transport corridors, power interconnection systems and telecommunications networks, improvement of infrastructure links, and measures to facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and services.

The leaders agreed that the fourth GMS Summit will be held in Myanmar in 2011.
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