Thailand and Japan will sign an agreement to press ahead with the Bangkok-Chiang Mai high-speed train and Kanchanburi-Sa Kaeo double-track railway later this month.
The signing ceremony of the memorandum of cooperation (MoC) for the projects will be held in Tokyo on May 26-27, said Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith after a meeting with Hiroto Izumi, the Japanese prime minister's special adviser on economic affairs, in Bangkok Monday.
The new railway development, which is part of Tokyo's move to form an economic partnership with the Thai government, covers the construction of a new 670-km rail route for high-speed trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and 574km of double-track rail routes covering the western province of Kanchanburi-Bangkok-Chachoengsao-Sa Kaeo's Aranyaprathet district, which borders Cambodia in the East.
The latter project also links the capital with Chachoengsao and Laem Chabang, the country's key industrial zone, in the eastern province of Chon Buri.
After the signing ceremony, Japanese experts will visit Thailand next month and work with Thai authorities to carry out surveys of the routes and designs, which will take about six months.
Other issues such as financing are expected to be finalised by the end of this year, Mr Arkhom said.
Financing the project will not be a problem because Tokyo can rely on the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), he said.
Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said the construction of the two projects should start next year because the project's feasibility study was finished in 2012.
"We use the term MoC because we've already gone beyond the MoU (memorandum of understanding) stage," ACM Prajin said. "Now it's time to put the projects into practice," he said.
Mr Izumi also met Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to discuss the progress of the two railway projects and to confirm Japan's cooperation with Thailand will continue.
Tokyo views the Bangkok-Chiang Mai rail route as the most important one out of both projects, government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp quoted Mr Izumi as saying.
Mr Izumi said Japan is ready to bring its technology and decades of experience in handling long rail routes, according to Mr Yongyuth.
The Japanese government's goodwill pleased Gen Prayut and he promised to step up measures to boost links between the nations over the two projects. The premier is scheduled to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a summit of country leaders from the Mekong river region and Japan in July, Mr Yongyuth added.
In another development, the ongoing work to survey and design another double-track rail route, which will connect Thailand with Laos and Kunming in southern China, is expected to be finished this August with construction to begin later this year, ACM Prajin said.
