China pledges loan for Bangkok–Nong Khai High-Speed Railway Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#34309 and #38128)

In January 2015, the Chinese Government announced plans to provide loans to the Government Thailand for railway construction. Several options were offered, such as a 100 billion Baht loan through the Bank of China at an interest rate of 3% and a repayment period of 20 years, and a 2 billion Baht loan through an unnamed bank at an interest rate of 2.9% and a repayment period of 2.9%. In 2016, the Chinese and Thai governments continued negotiations for a loan that would support the China-Thailand Railway stretching approximately 800 km from Bangkok to Nong Kai. The loan's expected borrowing terms were 2.5 percent interest 5-year grace period 15-year term. Then, on March 23, 2016, Thailand’s Prime Minister announced that the project would still go ahead but it would be financed entirely by the Thai Government. Then, in 2017, the Government of Thailand proposed again to borrow funds to cover about 25 percent of the total project cost but it sought a 2% interest rate rather than the earlier 2.5% interest rate. The estimated cost of this project in 2014 was $10.6 billion, which puts the value of the estimated loan at $2.5 billion. The identity of the lending institution is unknown. However, it is known that, as of 2019, the Thai Government was still considering Chinese Government funding for the project.

Additional details

1. Linked to #34309 for rice for rails agreement for rail project and #38128 for joint venture contract on this project.

Number of official sources

5

Number of total sources

18