Construction News

Laos and Thailand launch freight train service Laos and Thailand have launched a freight train service across the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge between Lao capital Vientiane and Nong Khai province to facilitate import and export businesses. An official ceremony greeted the inaugural freight train from Thailand, which arrived last week at Thanaleng railway station container yard in capital Vientiane, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Monday. There are now two daily passenger train services between Thanaleng and Nong Khai stations, which carry an average of 35,000 passengers a year…. Read more »

$3.9bn One Bangkok project to boast one of region’s tallest towers Complex to boost competition in retail space while drawing multinational tenants 31 July 2019 Thai beverage and retail conglomerate TCC Group has started what is described as the biggest real estate project in Thailand’s capital, envisioning it as a new landmark in the city. The 167,000 sq.-meter complex, named One Bangkok, will partially open in 2023, when the construction of the first building and some surrounding areas is completed. Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, the group chief executive at real… Read more »

Betong airport in southern Thailand 90 pct completed The construction of Betong International Airport in southern Thailand is now 90 percent completed, said a senior government official on Tuesday. According to Deputy Airports Department Director General Somkiat Maneesathit, Betong airport’s control tower, which will be run by Aeronautical Radio of Thailand, is currently under construction and scheduled to be completed by October. Flight paths of Betong airport, located in Thailand’s southern border area, have been inspected and approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand to ensure that… Read more »

IEAT set to sign contract for Rayong’s Map Ta Phut port Phase 3 The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) aims to sign a contract with the bid winner to build Phase 3 of Map Ta Phut port in Rayong worth Bt55.4 billion in September. The winner is Gulf-PTT Tank consortium of Gulf Energy Development and PTT Tank Terminal. State authority governor Somchint Pilouk said the IEAT has already submitted a revised draft contract for the consideration of the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister… Read more »

The Mystery of Bangkok’s Vimanmek Mansion 24 July 2019 Eagle-eyed observers have noted that a 19th century royal villa and popular tourist destination in Bangkok’s old quarter appears to be gone. Three years after it was closed for renovations, the Vimanmek Mansion, a Victorian-style residence built by King Rama V in 1900, appears to have been demolished or removed in recent satellite images. Its Wikipedia entry refers to the mansion in the past tense, and includes the following note: “In 2019, based on the sattlelite [sic] image from… Read more »

Ratch Group plans to start Ratchaburi province’s 1,400-megawatt Hin Kong power plant in 2021 27 July 2019 SET-listed Ratch Group Plc plans to start development of its 1,400-megawatt Hin Kong power plant sometime in 2021, commencing operation in 2024. Ratch won a licence from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for this new power plant with a development cost of US$700 million (21.7 billion baht). The power plant is located in Ratchaburi, where Ratch holds the operating licence for this site for a capacity of 700MW, though this concession… Read more »

Bangkok’s Makkasan train depot is about to be redeveloped, but care needs to be taken 27 July 2019 The idea of an adventure walk through a run-down train yard overgrown with tall trees may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, under the partially obscuring canopy lies what once was the country’s main train maintenance hub. Indeed, the 497-rai Makkasan depot has retained its significance even today, albeit for quite a different reason. Peeling off the depot’s rusty facade reveals its charming architectural designs inherent in the old… Read more »

Myanmar’s Dawei special economic zone (SEZ) stands better chance with Japanese participation, officials say 25 Jul 2019 The governments of Myanmar, Japan and Thailand will be meeting over the troubled Dawei special economic zone (SEZ) project that has stalled since 2013 for lack of funding. Ministers will form a Joint Cooperation Committee to discuss how Japan can be more involved in developing the SEZ. Located 20 kilometres north of Dawei, capital of Tanintharyi Region in Myanmar’s southeast coast bordering Thailand, the Dawei SEZ comprises 20,000 hectares of land… Read more »

Myanmar to pick deep-sea port location next year 24 July 2019 Exclusive: The location for Myanmar’s first deep-sea port will be decided next year, according to a senior government official. “Construction of a Yangon deep-sea port is one of the projects included as second priority in the National Transport Master Plan. Work is being made and the location can be finally selected and approved within 2020,” U Aung Ye Tun, assistant secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, told The Myanmar Times. Asked about the cost and… Read more »

Major collapse on Laos dam last year, 70 people killed and many homeless – Civil society groups call for construction stop Thousands of villagers who lost everything are stuck in camps in Attapeu and should get relief via insurance, activists say Civil society groups in three countries have called for construction to stop on a dam in southern Laos where a major collapse occurred last year, killing more than 70 people and leaving about 5,000 villagers homeless. The groups say thousands displaced by the disaster at the Xe-Pian… Read more »