Cambodia and China have signed a $1.2 billion deal to finance an ambitious canal project that aims to boost trade efficiency by linking a branch of the Mekong River near Phnom Penh to a port on the Gulf of Thailand, the Cambodian government agency heading the project announced Friday.

The deal to fund the Funan Techo Canal was signed Thursday during the state visit to Cambodia of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the agency said in a news release. Xi returned home Friday after a three-nation Southeast Asian tour that also included Vietnam and Malaysia.

Construction of the 151.6-kilometer (94-mile) canal began last year but was halted shortly after the Aug. 5 groundbreaking ceremony for reasons that were not made clear. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said at the time that the canal will be built “no matter what the cost,” emphasizing that the project promotes “national prestige, the territorial integrity and the development of Cambodia.”

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Data is the oil of the 21st century, and Southeast Asia risks pumping its reserves into foreign tanks. The need for the region to develop its own technological infrastructure has never been more pressing.

With nearly 700 million people and rapidly growing economies, Southeast Asia has become a pivotal region in the global geopolitical landscape. The technological revolution sweeping across its diverse nations is reshaping traditional industries and governance structures at an unprecedented pace. As digital innovation accelerates, Southeast Asian countries are strategically positioning themselves to maintain sovereignty over their technological futures while fostering vibrant innovation ecosystems amid intensifying global tech rivalries amongst states and their respective firms. At a time when a multipolar world order is characterized by intensifying strategic competition and fluid geopolitical realignments, the imperative for the region to develop autonomous technological infrastructure and digital sovereignty has never been more critical. 

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Thanks to the national government’s investment in infrastructure in the Mekong Delta, localities in the region have achieved outstanding results in economic development over the past few years, returning to the growth trajectory seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021-25, the economy of the Mekong Delta and the country as a whole were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and global conflicts.

2024 was considered a pivotal year for the provinces to complete their development targets for the period.

Outstanding budget revenue

In late 2023, the 23-kilometer My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway was opened to traffic, connecting to Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong and Trung Luong-My Thuan expressways.

The 120 kilometers of expressways have shortened the travel time from Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta by two hours. 

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The post Infrastructure development boosts economy in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Cambodia has launched a controversial canal project to link the Mekong River to the sea.

Work on the $1.7bn project kicked off on Monday. Phnom Penh hopes the canal will boost the country’s economy. However, concern over the impact on the region’s environment and foreign relations is rife.

The Funan Techo Canal will run from a spot on the Mekong River about an hour’s drive southeast of Phnom Penh to the Gulf of Thailand. It is due to be completed in 2028.

A pet project of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the canal is also viewed as a galvanising national undertaking intended to build support for his son and successor. Prime Minister Hun Manet took over at the end of his father’s 38-year rule last year.

The government declared Monday – also Hun Sen’s birthday – a holiday so Cambodians could participate in the “celebration in a joyful, crowded and proud manner”.

At the launch, Hun Manet called the 180km (110-mile) project “historic”, saying it will give the country a “nose to breathe through”.

“This project is not just an infrastructure project, but a nationalistic endeavour,” Hun Manet added. “We must build this canal at all costs.”

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Travellers are one step closer to an epic train journey from Bangkok to Beijing as a new railway bridge over the Mekong River has opened, linking Thailand and Laos by rail for the first time. This milestone, completed last month, leaves just a few dozen miles of a trackless gap before the route can finally reach China.

With the launch of this new service, passengers can now enjoy a 12-hour train journey from Bangkok’s Krung Thep Aphiwat Station to Khamsavath Station in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. However, Khamsavath, located about 9.7 kilometres outside Vientiane, is currently the final stop on this route. Travellers wishing to continue their journey to China must navigate Vientiane’s streets via taxis or vans to reach the larger, Chinese-built Vientiane Railway Station, which lies 16 kilometres northeast of the capital.

The remaining tracks could be laid by 2028, completing the long-awaited connection to China. Once finished, the route will link Bangkok directly to southern China’s high-speed rail network, marking a significant boost for trade and tourism in the region.

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As Cambodia continues its journey of digital transformation, the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 (ADM 2025) serves as a crucial guide for navigating the complexities of cybersecurity and trust in digital services. 

The plan outlines critical steps that Cambodia, alongside other ASEAN nations, must take to build a secure, inclusive and competitive digital economy.

“In this context, Cambodia faces both challenges and opportunities as it strives to enhance its digital infrastructure, foster trust in digital services and align with regional standards,” the ADM 2025 states.

One of the core objectives of the master plan is to build trust in digital services across critical sectors such as finance, healthcare, education and government. 

For Cambodia, this means developing robust security mechanisms tailored to these industries. These frameworks include unified certification approaches and the establishment of dedicated security response teams capable of managing potential risks and swiftly responding to cybersecurity incidents.

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The fifth Thai – Lao friendship bridge, which links Bueng Kan province of Thailand with Pakxan town of Laos, is scheduled to open this November.

Deputy Transport Minister of Thailand Manaporn Charoensri said recently that the project features a 1.35km crossover with a dual-lane road traversing the Mekong River and a four-lane bypass on the Thailand side.

The bypass links Highway No.222 (Bueng Kan – Phang Khon) with Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon provinces of Thailand. Additionally, a 2.86km dual-lane bypass in Pakxan is also included in the project.

Manaporn noted the project, worth 3.9 billion THB (105 million USD) in total, aims to facilitate transportation between Thailand and Laos. When operational, the bridge will help transporters decrease costs and time spent on cargo transportation between the two countries, thus benefiting logistics and tourism.

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NAN, Thailand: On clear mornings, at dawn, Ms Kanchanaporn Paeng-ud stands on a hillcrest where her family processes tapioca and looks out beyond the sweeping valleys across to neighbouring country Laos.

On the horizon, some 20 km away, she can see what resembles billowing columns of smoke that rise high into the sky. For five months of the year, those man-made clouds dissolve into tiny particles and are carried by the wind into her home country, Thailand.

The source of the emissions is the Hongsa Mine Mouth Power Project, a coal-fired power plant that began energy production in 2015 in Laos’ Xayaboury province.

Since then, villagers in the hills of Nan, a rural northeastern province on the Thai border with Laos, attest to strange things happening to their home and their health. 

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