The new Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge will connect economies by 2025.

New Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge

On September 9, 2023, Mr. Sathit Thaveesin, Prime Minister, boarded the special air-conditioned diesel railcar No. 931 from Udon Thani Railway Station, destination Nong Khai Railway Station.

In the procession, there were cabinet ministers, private sectors of Udon Thani, the president of the Udon Thani Chamber of Commerce, and the president of the Udon Thani Provincial Industrial Council. Along the way, they talked about the following issues:

Regarding the transportation of goods from Thailand to China, the private sector in Udon Thani Province has asked the Prime Minister to expedite the completion of the dual-track railway project as soon as possible because it will make the logistics system more convenient.

Including supporting the hosting of the World Horticultural Exposition, which will result in more foreign investors investing in the area.

The Prime Minister traveled to the Rom Khieo Market, a safe agricultural produce market in Udon Thani Province, and spoke with farmers and shoppers, discussing the new Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge.

The bridge was originally designed to handle international traffic by road and rail, but both modes of transport cannot be used at the same time and must be switched, causing delays.

Therefore, it is necessary to consider constructing a new Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, Nong Khai-Vientiane, to support the development of an international connectivity network in line with the policy of developing a rail transport network on the railway route.

The Department of International Trade Negotiations revealed that the department recently traveled to Laos to study the transportation route of Thai goods using the China-Laos high-speed railway. It discussed with the executives of the Tha Bok and Thanaleng ports in Vientiane.

It was found that the railway route is an opportunity for Thailand to export products to the Chinese market because it greatly reduces transportation time, down to no more than 15 hours from 2 days by land transport.

In addition, it can also take advantage of the free trade agreements (FTAs) of both the ASEAN-China framework and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to export fruits to China. “Since the China-Laos railway opened in December 2021, Thailand has significantly increased fruit exports to China.

In particular, exports through Nong Khai checkpoint were 90.41 million baht in 2021, increasing to 1,964.89 million baht in 2022.”

The products that Thailand exported the most to China via the China-Laos high-speed railway during (January-May 2023) are as follows:

1. Fresh durian worth 2,073.18 million baht, compared to 446 million baht in 2022.
2. Fresh mangosteen 378.65 million baht compared to the same period of 2022 at 52 million baht.
3. Electrical transformers and components 315.21 million baht
4. Fresh longan 37.40 million baht
5. Mineral products and other fuels 17.89 million baht
6. Processed pineapple 11.43 million baht
7. Fresh pomelo 2.99 million baht
8. Agricultural industry products 2.72 million baht
9. Fresh mangoes 1.79 million baht
10. Other fruits 1.52 million baht.

On October 30, 2023, Mr. Settha Thavisin, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, attended the official welcome ceremony and the full discussion between the Prime Minister and Mr. Sonxay Siphandon, Prime Minister of the Lao PDR, and discussed important cooperation issues.

In terms of trade, the Prime Minister is ready to support economic connectivity between Laos and the northeastern region of Thailand to become a mutually beneficial growth area. He also agreed to jointly find ways to reduce obstacles and accelerate trade facilitation between the two countries in order to achieve the trade target of 11 billion US dollars by 2025.

For infrastructure connectivity, the Prime Minister reiterated his support for the Lao government’s policy to transform the country from land-locked to land-linked, and is ready to continue working with the Lao PDR to develop various infrastructures to promote connectivity in transportation between
2 countries

In terms of rail connectivity, the Prime Minister asked both parties to expedite detailed discussions to begin construction of a bridge for the Mekong River railway (Nong Khai-Vientiane), with Thailand ready to provide a source of loans at special interest rates.

In addition, the Prime Minister asked both parties to expedite the preparation of the Technical Arrangement to start the train service between Thanaleng Station and Vientiane Railway Station (Khamsavad) early next year, which will help promote travel and tourism between the two countries.

For road and bridge connectivity, the Prime Minister expressed his delight that many projects are progressing, including the 5th Friendship Bridge (Bung Kan-Bolikhamxay), which is nearing completion.

The 6th Friendship Bridge Project (Ubon Ratchathani-Salavan), which both parties have agreed in principle, including the project to improve Highway No. 12 (Nakhon Phanom/Takhek, Khammouane Province-Na Phao, Bolikhamsai Province/Cha Lo, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam) to help promote transportation between Thailand-Laos-Vietnam-China to be more convenient and faster and to develop the community economy along this route.

The Prime Minister said that regarding rail transport and logistics, he asked both parties to jointly consider ways to increase transport and logistics efficiency in order to maximize the benefits of reducing transport time and costs.

The Lao side has ordered relevant agencies to jointly consider the matter and request that a clear and definite handling charge be set for the transfer of goods in Vientiane.
(Vientiane Logistic Park-VLP)

To enable Thai entrepreneurs to plan ahead, rail trade will increase. On the road side, the Prime Minister asked the Lao side to consider allowing Thai container trucks to transport goods into the Lao PDR as before the COVID-19 situation.

In terms of customs procedures, the Prime Minister asked both parties to expedite the establishment of a Common Control Area (CCA) at the new Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge 2 (Mukdahan-Savannakhet) to help reduce costs for operators on both sides.

For the transboundary haze problem, both parties attach importance to solving this problem and agreed to expedite the preparation of a Joint Action Plan between the three countries (Thailand, Lao PDR and Myanmar) which will help alleviate the impact on public health.

Thailand has a plan to support Lao PDR in creating a Fire Risk Map and training relevant officials, with agencies from both sides continuing to coordinate closely.

The Prime Minister is interested in buying more clean energy from Laos to support the expanding industries in Thailand. After the discussion, the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of the Lao PDR witnessed the signing of important documents and handed over the following projects:

1. Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Exchange between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism of the Lao PDR
2. Signing Ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding for Technical Cooperation in the Form of Capacity Building for Locomotive Driving and Ticketing System and Development of a Business Model for the Lao National Railway
3. The Friendship Arboretum Handover Ceremony to Celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Lao PDR
4. The handover ceremony of the learning center for sustainable agricultural development based on the philosophy of sufficiency economy to the mixed vocational technical school, Attapeu province

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Source of information: Thai PBS

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