The Trans-Asian Railway is in full swing. The western line of the China-Myanmar Railway, China's Kunming-Dali-Baoshan section has been completed and opened to traffic, the Baoshan-Ruili section can be opened to operation after the Gaoligongshan Tunnel is opened, the Myanmar Mujie to Mandalay section has completed the feasibility study, the Mandalay-Kyaukphyu section has started the feasibility study, China and Myanmar have also reached a new agreement on the operation of Kyaukphyu port; The Lang Son Railway and the Haiphong-Quang Ninh Railway, which connects to Dongxing, China, and the China-Laos-Thailand Railway Corridor on the Central Line are progressing most smoothly, and the China-Laos Railway has been opened, and the China-Thailand Railway is progressing in an orderly manner. It has to be mentioned that after the opening of the China-Laos Railway, Laos is in a state of lying and earning, and Thailand has also benefited, taking the initiative to speed up the construction progress of the high-speed railway, and also selling road and bridge projects!
The China-Laos Railway has played a strong demonstration effect. The railway starts from Kunming, China, passes through Yuxi, Pu'er, Xishuangbanna and other places in China, enters Laos in Mohan, and passes through Boten, Luang Prabang, Vientiane and other places, and ends at Vientiane South Railway Station, with a total length of about 1022 kilometers It has become an important logistics transit base in the Indochina Peninsula.
Since the opening of the China-Laos Railway, both passengers and freight have flourished, injecting new impetus into the economic and social development of Laos. At present, the China-Laos Railway operates an average of 14 cross-border freight trains and 72 passenger trains per day. According to relevant statistics, on the second anniversary of the China-Laos Railway, a total of 24.2 million passengers and 29.1 million tons of goods have been sent, and the effect of the golden channel has become increasingly prominent; from January 1 to April 25, 2024, the cumulative number of passengers sent has exceeded 7.16 million (an increase of 21.9%), and the cargo traffic volume has exceeded 6.26 million tons (an increase of 13.9%)! With the arrival of the tourist season, two additional international passenger trains have been opened between the two famous tourist cities from Xishuangbanna in China to Luang Prabang, Laos! This also provides an opportunity for the development of Laos' tourism industry, Laos plans to attract 4.6 million tourists in 2024 and generate $712 million in revenue, you know, Laos aims to attract only 3 million tourists in 2022 and only $270 million in revenue!
Thailand has also benefited. At present, China has become the largest destination for Thailand's agricultural exports. In 2023, Thailand's agricultural exports to China will reach 387.118 billion baht, accounting for nearly 42%, of which the export value of fresh durian will reach 137.478 billion baht, an increase of 29.65%, accounting for 70% of Thailand's total durian exports! The fruits exported from Thailand to China have been transported to China by the China-Laos Railway fruit cold chain special train, and the transportation time has been shortened from 5 to 7 days to 3 days, the transportation cost has been greatly reduced, and the product quality assurance level has been greatly improved, which is also the main reason for the continuous decline in durian prices in China in the past two years. According to relevant research in Thailand, as the driving role of the China-Laos railway becomes more and more obvious, it will further promote the export of Thai products to China through Laos, and is expected to increase by 27 billion baht in the next 7 years!
In terms of tourism, China has become Thailand's second largest source of tourists. In 2023, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand will reach 3,519,700. According to Thailand's relevant assessment data, Yunnan Province, the starting station of the China-Laos Railway, and the surrounding Yunnan Province (Sichuan, Chongqing, Guigui, and Guizhou) that can reach Yunnan through the railway as long as 1% of the people travel to the northeast of Thailand, will bring 4.685 billion baht/year of tourism income to Thailand! In terms of industrial cooperation, China has become Thailand's largest source of investment, with an investment amount of 159.387 billion baht in 2023, accounting for about 25% of Thailand's total foreign investment, providing an important guarantee for industrial cooperation between China and Thailand. Changan, BYD and other car companies have invested in Thailand, helping Thailand become the largest new energy vehicle production base in Southeast Asia!
After the opening of the China-Laos-Thailand railway corridor, it will not only greatly change the status quo of Thailand's railway infrastructure, but also connect with the China-Laos railway, provide strong support for the implementation of the development concept of China-Laos-Thailand connectivity, and promote cooperation between China, Laos and Thailand in trade, industry, investment, tourism and other fields to achieve common development.
Therefore, Thailand is eager to promote the infrastructure project of the China-Laos Railway, not only to speed up the construction of high-speed rail, but also to take the initiative to sell road and bridge projects. At present, the first phase of the China-Thailand railway project (Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima section) has started construction, with a total length of about 253 kilometers and a total investment of about 179 billion baht (35 billion yuan), but the progress is relatively slow, although construction has started in December 2017, it is expected to be completed and opened to traffic in 2028. In order to speed up the progress of the project, after the new Thai government was formed, the new Prime Minister Saitha repeatedly stated that he would speed up the construction progress, and took the Minister of Transportation and the Director of the Railway Bureau to Nong Khai Province by train to inspect the transportation situation between China and Laos and Thailand.
Recently, the second phase of the China-Thailand railway has also made significant progress. The section of the railway from Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai, with a total length of about 357 kilometers and a total investment of about 341.351 billion baht (67 billion yuan), has been approved by the National Railways of Thailand, will be submitted to the Ministry of Transport and the Cabinet of Thailand for review, is expected to start construction in 2024, after the completion of land acquisition and demolition work, will start construction in 2025, but it will not be completed until 2031.
Thailand has no money or technology, and needs external support to start large-scale high-speed rail construction. At present, the railway from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand has been determined to cooperate with China, and the offline civil engineering is responsible for Thai enterprises, and the online "four electricity" projects and EMUs are responsible for Chinese enterprises, which makes the Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai section must choose to cooperate with China, otherwise it will face the problem of inconsistent technical standards, and the connectivity will be greatly reduced. Therefore, the Thai side plans to organize a delegation to visit China in May to conduct a new round of negotiations on the construction of the Sino-Thai railway, and also take the initiative to promote the road and bridge project. According to the information released by the Ministry of Transport of Thailand, the Ministry of Transport of Thailand plans to lead a delegation to China from May 7 to 9 to participate in the 31st meeting of the Sino-Thai Railway Cooperation Joint Committee to discuss the progress of the first phase of the Sino-Thai railway and the preparation of the second phase of the project.
It is worth noting that the Thai side also plans to meet with Chinese investors, conduct a roadshow of road and bridge projects in southern Thailand, and plan to invite Chinese investors to participate. It is reported that the construction of Thailand's land bridge project includes the construction of Ranong and Chumphon ports, and the construction of double-track railways and highways from Chumphon to Ranong, as well as the construction of oil pipeline systems and related supporting industries, with a total investment of 1 trillion baht (196 billion yuan), which is not what Thailand's economic strength can bear, so Thailand has been actively seeking investment from foreign enterprises, and the first phase of the project is planned to start construction in 2026 and be completed in 2030.
To a certain extent, Thailand may bundle the Sino-Thai railway with the land bridge project, which can be in a favorable position in the negotiations, and can quickly realize the upgrading of domestic transportation infrastructure projects. Of course, if Thailand's "rice for high-speed rail" plan can be successfully implemented, Thailand will be the first country in Southeast Asia to open high-speed rail, and even the China-Laos-Thailand railway can be operational, and the development opportunities brought by it cannot be ignored.
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