CHINA-EXTERNAL: THAILAND
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In what Chinese officials have described as a major scoop for the Chinese government, Thailand's National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), headed by Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, has approved a $23 billion (£13.6bn) transport project that will see two high-speed railways link up directly with China by 2021. It will connect the northern border town of Nong Khai with Map Ta Phut, located south-east of Bangkok. Chaing Khong, just south of the Laos capital Vientiane, will also be connected to Ban Phachi, in the central Ayutthaya regions. The railway lines will link up directly to Kunming, capital of China's southern Yunnan province.
China has plans to build a 3,000km (1,860m) high-speed line from Kunming to Singapore, passing through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia, a former Chairman of the China Railway Corporation told China Daily. The Kunming-Singapore line will be constructed in four stages, from Kunming to Vientiane, Vientiane to Bangkok, Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, and Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. The Bangkok Post reported that construction of the Thai lines is likely to commence next year as part of the new eight-year 741.4 billion baht ($23.3bn) infrastructure development project connecting Bangkok and other key cities with airports, seaports, border areas and cargo depots. It will add almost 106 new trains to the existing fleet and six dual-track railway lines will also be constructed.
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