Air travel in Southeast Asia boomed in the 2010s, with new routes opening up previously unconnected provincial cities, and low-cost airlines making long-distance travel more comfortable and affordable. To give you an idea of these boom times, I posted about Vietnam’s aviation market in 2019. To cater to this new-found demand, old airports have been […]
Future Hoi An / Quang Nam Province
Quang Nam is a coastal province of Central Vietnam, in between Da Nang to the north and Quang Ngai Province to the south. In the interior, it borders Kon Tum Province and Laos. While Quang Nam is not a household name for the average tourist, everyone knows its most famous city of Hoi An. In […]
Building better new cities in Southeast Asia
New urban areas and city development projects are being built across Southeast Asia to accommodate a rapidly urbanising population. As the editor-in-chief of this urban development website, I’ve been keeping track of these new projects over the years. As I travel around Southeast Asia I’ve visited many of these new urban areas, and I’m seeing […]
Da Nang construction update – 2020 edition
Da Nang has been booming over the last decade, becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination and central business hub in Vietnam. This growth has come to a grinding halt with the onset of the COVID-19 virus. In 2020 Da Nang recorded negative economic growth for the first time in over 20 years. It’s been especially […]
Ho Chi Minh City construction update – 2020 edition
This is the second annual Ho Chi Minh City construction update (here is the 2019 construction update), and what a difference a year makes. At the end of 2019 Vietnam had recorded over 7% GDP annual growth, capping off a record decade of growth. And then COVID-19 struck. With international travel all but closed down, […]
Vega City Nha Trang: seaside leisure and entertainment complex
Vega City Nha Trang is a coastal resort/new urban area that features hotels, villas, shophouses, and an entertainment area. Vega City is 13 km from the city centre (measured from Agarwood Tower), at the northeastern tip of Nha Trang Bay. Work began in May 2020 and it is now partially open. Project Title: Champarama Resort […]
Nha Trang construction update – 2020 edition
Nha Trang was in the midst of a construction boom in 2019, with Cam Ranh International Airport reaching 10 million passengers for the first time. As I noted in my Vietnam aviation report for 2019, Cam Ranh airport was serving flights to 30 cities in mainland China every week. [Cam Ranh International Airport passenger statistics […]
Thai Bridge: a proposed sea bridge across the Bay of Bangkok
The Thai Bridge (Saphan Thai) is a proposed bridge spanning the Bay of Bangkok, connecting Chonburi Province in Eastern Thailand to Phetchaburi Province on the Gulf Coast. While the exact location isn’t stated, it is roughly from Pattaya to Hua Hin. The project has been quoted at 900 billion baht (29 billion USD). The bridge […]
Chumphon – Ranong Railway: connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea
The Chumphon – Ranong Railway is a proposed branch railway from the Thailand Southern Line, connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea. The line begins at the current Chumphon railway station and follows a similar route to Highway No. 4 to Ranong. The line would be 109 km with 33 km of elevated […]
Ho Chi Minh City – Phnom Penh Railway: news about the proposed railway between Vietnam and Cambodia
The Ho Chi Minh City – Phnom Penh Railway is a proposed railway connecting the capital of Cambodia with the largest city in Vietnam. It currently takes 7-8 hours to travel by bus between Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh. A train could potentially reduce the trip to under 2 hours. Despite the two […]
