Thailand greenlights first phase of $5.5 bln railway project with China

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Thailand's government on Tuesday approved 5.5 billion US dollars to build the first phase of a high-speed railway that will ultimately link Bangkok to southern China.

The project is part of China's huge regional infrastructure plan to build a high-speed rail network connecting the southern city of Kunming with Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Construction has already begun in Laos but the Thai segment of rail has been stymied for years by tussles over financing, loan terms and protective labor regulations in the Southeast Asian kingdom.

The high-speed railway is set to start operations in 2021.