CHINA and Thailand agreed Friday to build 867 kilometers of dual track railways in the Southeast Asian nation.

    A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on the sidelines of a two-day regional summit that began in Bangkok on Friday.

    The project could be a boon for Thai trade and tourism and strengthen China’s strategic foothold in Thailand.

    “China will be responsible for the construction and development of the rail network and Thailand will take part in preparing the groundwork for construction,” Thailand’s transport minister, Air Chief Marshal Prajin Junthong, told reporters.

    The first line will be a 734-kilometer standard-gauge dual track railway stretching from Nong Khai on Thailand’s border with Laos, to its industrialized eastern seaboard. China has provisionally agreed with Laos to build a railway from Kunming through Laos, with the aim of connecting with Thailand.

    China will also develop another 133-kilometer rail track linking the central province of Saraburi to Bangkok, about 108 kilometers away. Construction would begin in 2016, Prajin said.

    No details of the cost of the projects were disclosed. Earlier this month, Thailand’s military-stacked legislature approved a preliminary agreement on the China deal, putting the value at 350 billion baht (US$10.66 billion).

    Mayasu Hosumi, president of the Japan External Trade Organization in Thailand (JETRO), said the rail network was “indispensable for the enhancement of production networks” in the region.

    The two countries also signed a deal during Li’s visit, in which China will buy two million tons of rice from Thailand.(SD-Agencies)