Thai Transport Minister Akong Dingpithaya Baishi announced on December 20 that the Thai-Chinese Railway Cooperation Project is scheduled to hold a foundation-laying ceremony on December 19, marking the start of the cooperation project.
Ning Fukui, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, stressed that China has never asked Thailand to enjoy the right to open up within one kilometer of the railway line, and that China has always adhered to the equal cooperation approach.
[or start construction in May next year]
Akong announced the above news in Bangkok on the same day when he attended the "Brilliant Future: Maritime Silk Road in the 21st Century" sponsored by Pangea Bank of Thailand. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held in Pathum Thani province in central Thailand.
Ning Fukui, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, said in his keynote speech at the same forum that the Sino-Thai Railway Cooperation Joint Committee has held eight meetings so far, and the Thai Cabinet formally approved the Thai-Chinese Railway Cooperation Intergovernmental Framework Agreement on 17 th of this month, which will be formally signed by China and Thailand next month.
Ning Fukui pointed out that while signing the framework agreement, the two sides will sign a memorandum on China's purchase of 1 million tons of rice from Thailand.
Thai media reported earlier that the draft Intergovernmental Framework Agreement on Railway Cooperation between the two countries approved by the Thai Cabinet included: On December 19, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Train Control and Maintenance Center (OCC) was held at Chiang Rano Station in Pathum Thani Province.
The groundbreaking ceremony symbolized the launch of the Sino-Thai railway cooperation project. However, the formal construction of the railway project may be delayed until May next year.
According to reports, Akong said at a cabinet meeting on the 17th that the construction of the project will be carried out in May next year, depending on the final decision made by Thailand and China on the form of project investment, construction costs and loan interest rates. The Joint Committee on Railway Cooperation between China and Thailand is scheduled to hold its ninth meeting at the end of November to continue discussing the above details.
Akong said at the forum on the 20th that the Thai-China Railway Cooperation Project plans to first build the Bangkok-Kangui section and the Kangui-Khorat section; the Matab-Rayong section and the Khorat-Nong Khai section need further feasibility study. The Chinese side will provide the Thai side with the details of the first phase of the project, and the feasibility study report of the whole project will be submitted to the Thai side in the next step.
[China emphasizes three major issues]
At the forum on the same day, Ning Fukui, Chinese Ambassador to Thailand, emphasized three major issues when talking about railway cooperation projects: the issue of loan interest rates, the issue of opening rights along the railway, and the issue of project division of labor.
He said that the 2.5% interest rate of US dollar loans provided by China to Thailand is significantly lower than cost of domestic financing in Thailand. The dollar lending rate cannot simply be compared with the yen lending rate. China has overcome the cost pressure and provided low interest rate US dollar loans to Thailand, which fully reflects China's sincerity.
Ning Fukui pointed out that some people said that the Chinese side demanded the right to open within one kilometer of the railway line and made a lot of hype in the Thai media. This is a trumped-up statement, which has caused some misleading. In fact, the Chinese side has never made such a request from the beginning to the end.
With regard to the division of project work, Ning Fukui said that any part of the project that the Thai side is able and willing to undertake will be undertaken by the Thai side; Chinese enterprises will undertake the part of the project that the Thai side does not have the technical ability.
He stressed that China-Thailand railway cooperation is a strategic measure to provide momentum for the economic development of China and Thailand. China has always adhered to the equal cooperation approach of mutual consultation and mutual construction, making the cake of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Thailand bigger and promoting regional economic interconnection.
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