Skip to main content

Thailand expands transportation infrastructure

The Thai government is expanding its current transportation systems with plans for 55 transportation projects worth US$72 billion which are expected to be completed by 2020. Of the US$72 billion, 64 percent will be spent on 31 rail projects, 24 per cent on 13 road projects, 7 per cent for seven water transportation projects, and 4.75 per cent is for four air transportation projects. These projects are designed to make Thailand a crossroads for the ASEAN logistics network, enabling cities in the region to be
March 11, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The Thai government is expanding its current transportation systems with plans for 55 transportation projects worth US$72 billion which are expected to be completed by 2020. Of the US$72 billion, 64 percent will be spent on 31 rail projects, 24 per cent on 13 road projects, 7 per cent for seven water transportation projects, and 4.75 per cent is for four air transportation projects.

These projects are designed to make Thailand a crossroads for the ASEAN logistics network, enabling cities in the region to benefit from the improved transportation linkage between Thailand and its neighbours and between ASEAN members, reducing logistics costs and promoting tourism within the region.

The road links are expected to boost border trade, of which for the first three quarters of 2012 were valued at US$ 22.7 billion, while new investments in rail projects are designed to reduce logistic costs and minimise transportation time.

The Thai government will also be issuing tenders for four high speed train routes, which it says will help reduce commuters’ travel time, lower the cost of transporting goods, and improve the environment by reducing pollution and energy consumption. In Bangkok, where new roads cannot be built, electric train routes will be expanded from the current 40 kilometres to 468.8 kilometres.

The government is planning to finance the projects through revenue from state enterprises, fifty per cent through government revenue, 32 per cent through state owned enterprises and loans, and eighteen per cent through public and private investment.  Thailand’s minister of transport, Chadchart Sittipunt wants to make this national transportation expansion project a national agenda and turn it into contingency plan which will be continued by successive governments.

The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is aware of the importance of expanding Thailand transportation infrastructure and its impact on the development of Thailand, and has pledged to support logistic and infrastructure investment project by offering tax incentives and other benefits for projects involving transportation infrastructure.
UTC

Related Content

  • March 25, 2015
    Kenya plans road toll tenders
    Kenya plans to start tendering in May for toll-road contracts estimated by the government to be worth $2 billion to improve the efficiency of the East African nation’s biggest commercial routes, according to Bloomberg. The contracts will be in addition to the 45 deals worth about US$3.2 billion that the government will start awarding as early as next week, to double the nation’s paved-road network through an annuity program. The government is planning to introduce five toll projects covering about 800 kilom
  • June 22, 2017
    New South Wales budget ‘builds for the future’
    Australia’s New South Wales Government has committed US$55 billion (A$72.7 billion) over the next four years to infrastructure investments, including US$31 billion (A$41.4 billion) for roads and transport.
  • November 7, 2014
    Chile launches ambitious transport plan
    In an effort to boost a weakening economy, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has announced a nearly US$4.2 billion transport infrastructure plan, including one new metro line in Santiago, cable car systems in three other cities and rail projects. The plan includes US$1.9 billion in new concessions, with the expansion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to the metro system and US$2.2 billion in works directly funded by the government. In Santiago, the program involves developing feasibility studie
  • May 30, 2014
    The Asia-Pacific poses a multitude of ITS challenges
    The Asia-Pacific ITS Forum and Exhibition in Auckland, New Zealand, provided a focus for the region’s ITS Associations. Mary Bell reports. In late April, ITS New Zealand hosted the 13th Asia-Pacific ITS Forum and Exhibition in Auckland. Around 350 delegates from 24 nations gathered to share and advance ITS applications on both strategic and technical levels and to discuss the differing and various challenges faced in the region.