Thai rail construction to start

expat network

Thai rail construction to start

Construction on a $12 billion Chinese-backed railway through Thailand will begin in September, as part of a grand vision to overhaul the country’s notoriously creaking network, officials said.

“The first two phases will start by September or October at the latest this year and will take around two-and-a-half years to complete,” Thailand’s Transport Minister Prajin Juntong told reporters after meeting Chinese officials in Bangkok.

Thailand currently has only 250 kilometres (155 miles) of dual track railway, making train travel painfully slow.

With Chinese help, Bangkok plans to lay down two new dual track lines, part of a wider regional network that Beijing hopes will eventually link China’s south western hub city of Kunming with Asia’s second busiest port of Singapore.

The largest line will cut 734 kilometres through Thailand, from northern Nong Khai province — which borders Laos — to the vast, coastal industrial estate of Map Ta Phut, southeast of Bangkok.

Prajin, the former head of Thailand’s air force, said construction on that line would be divided up into four stages with the first beginning in September, laying down tracks between Map Ta Phut and Kaeng Khoi, via the capital.

In total the four stages are expected to cost around 400 billion baht ($12 billion), the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

Completion of all stages is expected by around 2020 with further meetings to be held in Beijing in February to decide the level of Chinese involvement.

Source: The Peninsula

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Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.