ANNEX 1 KEY LINEAR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS UNDER THE BRI IN ASEAN

Thailand

The government of Thailand has invested in expanding and improving its infrastructure networks in recent decades through public investment and public-private partnerships (PPP), with about THB 4,000 billion ($122 billion) invested in infrastructure between 2010 and 2019.113 Thailand planned to invest approximately THB 1.49 trillion ($45.6 billion) on 37 infrastructure projects in 2022,114 including the high-speed rail project linking Thailand with China, via Laos ($7 billion allocated). The China-Thailand high-speed railway is a flagship project promoting the BRI and for the development of regional connectivity. It will link Bangkok to Nong Khai in northeast Thailand, a northeastern border province adjacent to Laos, and subsequently connect to the China-Laos railway in Laos. Eventually, this line will provide a connection from Bangkok to Vientiane, and onwards to Kunming in China.

Thailand’s National Strategy Plan 2017–2036 includes a Thailand 4.0 policy that emphasizes the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) to boost the country’s growth and link with international initiatives including the BRI (see Figure 13).115