Nong Khai — Thailand Gateway of the China-Laos-Thailand Rail Pass
Nong Khai, Thailand will become the Thai gateway for China-Laos-Thai rail transportation and assume the role of an international trade commodity distribution center in northeastern Thailand. According to reports, the China-Laos Railway has entered a countdown to commercial operation and is expected to be launched on December 2, 2021. But at the same time, Thailand must also prepare for the influx of Chinese goods into the Thai market, which will cause an impact on the country’s peers.
Nong Khai Chamber of Commerce Chairman Monipah revealed that in order to cope with the priority opening of the China-Laos railway corridor, Nong Khai has planned a port transfer base covering an area of more than 500 acres to meet the needs of agricultural products in northeastern Thailand, especially It is the export demand of rubber. Based on the current production capacity of several Northeast rubber plantations such as Nong Khai, Wengan, and Udon Thani, the annual rubber export volume is about 1 million tons. However, Monipah pointed out that while the railway channel will bring dividends to Thailand’s agricultural exports to China, Thailand must also deal with the challenge of the influx of a large number of Chinese products. Thailand’s uncompetitive and highly homogeneous products will soon be replaced by Chinese products. In addition, the opening of the railway will bring a large number of Chinese businessmen and investors to Thailand, and Thailand’s border trade will enter a new phase. In terms of inbound tourism or cross-border tourism, the total number of guest rooms in Nong Khai’s hotels, inns and homestays is currently about 3,000. If normalization of ports is restored after the epidemic has stabilized, a large number of Chinese and Lao tourists will travel to Nong Khai. Therefore, from the perspective of future development trends, Nong Khai will play an increasingly important role as the Thailand gateway to China-Laos-Thailand Railway Channel.
Originally published at https://www.tlw.com.