A proposed 196km motorway, a high speed train and an upgrading of the airport: Nakhon Ratchasima is poised to get plenty of money from the Thai government to upgrade its infrastructure.
BANGKOK- Some 70 billion of Baht (US$ 2.3 billion) have been promised by the current Thai government to develop connections to Nakhon Ratchasima, near Bangkok. One of the country’s largest cities in Thailand with over 150,000 inhabitants (400,000 in its metropolitan area), Nakhon Ratchasima (or Korat) is considered as a major gateway to the Isan region, the Northeastern part of the Kingdom. In the proximity of the city is the old Khmer temple of Phimai as well as to the World Heritage site of Khao Yai National Park.
The Ministry of Transport hopes now to bring better infrastructure into the area. Waiting to be approved next month by the cabinet of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, development plans would include the construction of a new motorway, the future development of a high-speed rail line as well as the reactivation of the airports in the region.
Local MPs in the province have been pushing for a planned 64-billion-Baht motorway, which would link Nakhon Ratchasima to Bang Pa-in, an area located between the old capital city of Ayutthaya and the northern part of Bangkok. Once approved the motorway would take four years to be completed and would be part of a larger project connecting main urban centres within the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
The ministry has also moved ahead with double-track and high-speed train projects to improve transport links to the Northeast. According to the Bangkok Post, the ministry of transport already conducted the feasibility study. Double tracks would be built on the existing northeastern rail route. Chinese and Japanese firms are also competing on the project of a high-speed train from Nakhon Ratchasima to Bangkok. Single-track along most rail routes in Thailand make train services among the worst in Southeast Asia. It can take for example up to five hours to travel the less than 200-km ride!
The ministry also plans to upgrade airports in the region. Currently Nakhon Ratchasima as well as neighbouring Surin province have airfields but none of them are currently connected by regular flights. The Minister wants now to upgrade the runway at Surin provincial airport and also turn Nakhon Ratchasima airport as an aircraft maintenance centre in preparation for the launch of ASEAN Economic Community in late 2015.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
