Living In Asia

Ho Chi Minh City Metro 2020 construction update

Ho Chi Minh City is in the process of building its first metro line in a planned 9-line system of metro, light rail, and monorails. As part of the Living In Asia annual construction report series, this article refers to developments over the past year. Here is the 2020 construction update for the approved lines […]

China-Laos railway – a guide to the Boten-Vientiane railway in Laos

The Boten – Vientiane railway (also known as the China-Laos railway) is a new railway that will connect Kunming in China to Vientiane in Laos. From Boten on the China/Laos border the railway will travel 414 km through Laos to the capital of Vientiane. The only railway in Laos is a border station operated by […]

Future Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area – Construction and infrastructure projects in Greater HCMC

The Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area comprises of Ho Chi Minh City and seven surrounding provinces. Ho Chi Minh City has been growing so fast that cities in neighbouring provinces have been subsumed into Greater Ho Chi Minh City. The official designated metropolitan area includes all the provinces in the Southeast region and two […]

Mindanao Railway Project – The proposed 2000km railway on the second-largest island in the Philippines

The Mindanao Railway Project is a proposed railway network on the island of Mindanao in the Southern Philippines. The railway would connect the major cities of the island via a circumferential railway, with spur lines connecting outlying cities. Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines, and it has a population of over 20 million […]

Hanoi Metro 2020 construction update

Hanoi has two metro lines under construction, and when completed they will be the first urban railways in Vietnam. Both lines were due to be open by now, but there have been years of delays that have kept the lines from opening. It’s been a frustrating wait for Hanoians (and regular visitors like myself) to […]