China Development Bank pledges support for the Eastern Economic Corridor High-speed Rail Project
Not recommended for aggregates
This project is not recommended for use in creating aggregated sums. See the documentation for more information about this criteria.
Summary
Funding agency [Type]
China Development Bank (CDB) [State-owned Policy Bank]
Recipient
Thailand
Sector
Transport and storage (Code: 210)
Flow type
Loan
Level of public liability
Central government debt
Infrastructure
Yes
Category
Project lifecycle
Description
On May 21, 2019, China Development Bank (CDB) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Thailand pledging financial support for the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) High-speed Rail Project. It is unclear whether CDB or any other financier ever made a formal commitment to this project. The purpose of this project is to build a 220 km-long high-speed railway connecting Don Mueang International Airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, and U-Tapao International Airport. According to media reports, construction began October 24, 2019. Works were originally supposed to reach completion in 2023 but due to the pandemic the end date was pushed back to 2025. This project is being developed as a public-private partnership (PPP) between the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and CP Group. CP Group (70%), China Railway Construction Corporation (10%), CITIC Group, Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc., Italian-Thai Development PCL, and CH Karnchang PCL created a joint venture and special purpose vehicle called Eastern High-Speed Rail Linking Three Airports Co., Ltd. to carry out the project. The all-in investment is THB 224.544 billion (about RMB 47.1 billion).
Additional details
Number of official sources
3
Number of total sources
13
Details
Cofinanced
Yes
Cofinancing agencies [Type]
Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) [State-owned Bank]
Direct receiving agencies [Type]
Government of Thailand [Government Agency]
Implementing agencies [Type]
China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) [State-owned Company]
The State Railway of Thailand [State-owned Company]
CP Group [Private Sector]