BANGKOK, 1 June 2015 – The Thai government has given assurances that it will carry on with the joint railway construction project with China, saying the Bangkok-Kaeng Khoi-Khorat section will begin to take shape within this year.
Following speculations that the government has canceled its planned cooperation with China on railway development, Deputy Government Spokesperson Maj Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd has rejected the information as false. Instead, he disclosed that both sides have agreed on the China-proposed construction of a medium-speed system on the Nong Khai-Khorat-Kaeng Khoi-Map Ta Phut section and Kaeng Khoi-Bangkok section, totaling a distance of 873 kilometers.
The Deputy Government Spokesperson said the new system will connect with another Chinese-Lao rail line via Nong Khai and Vientiane. The project is set to be discussed at the fifth meeting of the Thai-Chinese Joint Committee late this month while route survey and cost assessment will be finished within August as scheduled. Construction is expected to commence on the Bangkok-Kaeng Khoi-Khorat section by the end of this year.
Maj Gen Sansern insisted that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has a clear policy on forging cooperation with neighboring countries in order to develop the Thai railway system and raise the regional logistics efficiency.
