Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to spend $68 billion on a high-speed railway and other transportation mega projects to drive the nation's economic development. Under the seven-year scheme, 200 high-speed trains will whizz across the kingdom on four lines linking the capital Bangkok with the north, south and east of the country. "The projects, which will focus on electric trains and dual tracks, will completely change Thailand, and they will start next year," said Transport Minister Chatchai Sitthipan.The high-speed rail lines will be built in two stages and eventually link Bangkok with the Malaysian and Lao borders, as well as the northern city of Chiang Mai, the seaside resort of Pattaya and areas further to the east. The new trains will be capable of travelling at up to 250 kilometres (155 miles) per hour, reducing travel time from Bangkok to northern Thailand to four hours from 12 hours, a cabinet document said. The average speed of passenger trains on Thailand's existing national network is 60 kilometres per hour. Under the new plan, the government aims to increase the average speed to between 100 and 120 kilometres per hour. A metropolitan rail network is also envisaged for Bangkok. The government plans to borrow 2.0 trillion baht ($68 billion) to fund the project, subject to parliamentary approval, as part of its efforts to avoid the "middle income trap" of slowing economic growth. The finance ministry said it hoped the investment would boost Thailand's annual economic growth by one percentage point on average between 2013 and 2020 and create 500,000 new jobs.
GMT 12:09 2018 Monday ,26 November
Black Friday less wild as more Americans turn to online dealsGMT 15:07 2018 Sunday ,18 November
Refugee host countries discuss UNRWA's financial crisisGMT 17:22 2018 Wednesday ,31 October
Russia climbed to 31st place in Doing Business-2019 ratingGMT 16:53 2018 Wednesday ,17 October
"Putin" We need for collective restoration of Syria's economyGMT 14:02 2018 Friday ,12 October
Govt to announce incentives package for Overseas PakistanisGMT 18:26 2018 Saturday ,06 October
Dubai attracts Dh17.7 billion in foreign direct investmentGMT 09:02 2018 Friday ,21 September
Economy of Georgia demonstrates "strong signs of recovery"GMT 09:03 2018 Wednesday ,24 January
German investor confidence surges in JanuaryMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor