Japan to help construct new hi-speed rail tracks in Thailand

BANGKOK, January 28 (TNA) - The Thai and Japanese governments have agreed to cooperate on the construction of new hi-speed rail tracks, linking Thailand's western and eastern regions, paving the way for transport connectivity between the Thai Kingdom and neighbouring Myanmar and Cambodia in the future. Thai Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula told journalists of the agreement, after his meeting with the visiting special advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Hiroto Izumi, at Bangkok's Government House on January 27. MR Pridiyathorn stated that both sides have concluded to jointly develop the hi-speed tracks, with the standard rail gauge of 1.435 metres, from Phu Nam Ron District of the western Kanchanaburi Province to the eastern Sa Keao Province, through Bangkok and Chachoengsao Province. According to the deputy prime minister, Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha will visit Japan next month, scheduled for February 8-9, to ink the agreement in Tokyo, after which a joint Thai-Japanese working group will meet to discuss and plan the construction, covering the overall construction budget and proportions of investment funds between the Thai and Japanese sides. (TNA)