Chiang Rai reveals plans for Golden Triangle regional cooperations

[webfact]

Chiang Rai reveals plans for Golden Triangle regional cooperations



HOUAYXAY, 8 January 2015 (NNT) – The Governor of Chiang Rai yesterday attended the 8 Party Regional Border Area Cooperation Conference to report the previous accomplishments and proposed further cooperation.

The Governor of Chiang Rai Pongsak Wangsamer yesterday attended the fifth conference on the Cooperation of Border Areas in the Golden Triangle region between Laos, China, Myanmar, and Thailand at Ban Houayxay, Laos PDR.

In the conference, the governor of Chiang Rai revealed that the province has completed the second phase of its strategic plan in the establishment of the special economic zones in three districts with the starting date of the projects due within October 2015.

He said that the three districts in Chiang Rai have been assigned with different strategies. The Chiang Khong district is set to become the trading gateway with west China and a tourism path to Luang Prabang in Laos. The Chiang Saen district will function as a pier to west China and the tourism path to the Golden Triangle. The Mae Sai district will become a Thai-Myanmar border area market and also serve as a tourism path to Mandalay in Myanmar.

The Chiang Rai governor said that the province is now preparing the land rights for land allocation and the infrastructure development to accommodate tourism and investments in the area as well as the logistics. These infrastructure investments include the improvement of border area market, the tourists information center, the transportation center, the customs checkpoint, the expansion of road lanes, and the one-stop service offices.

He further pointed that there will be the projects to establish the logistics center and the industrial park in Chiang Khong district, as well as the Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai highway project and the dual track railway project connecting Chiang Khong with Den Chai district in Phrae province.

Regarding tourism in the province, the Chiang Rai governor said that the province has will provide regulations of crossing the new Mekong bridge with personal cars via the new logistics center, while the province has been holding many activities encouraging tourism in the past years.

The province has also push forward educational cooperation through the exchange students between institutes in each countries, said the Chiang Rai governor.

Chiang Rai province has proposed matters regarding the co-development of the special economic zones in the areas that are close to each other such as the adjustment of the opening hours and border crossing upgrades to negate the development gap between both sides, the exploration of the tourism route through the four countries, the improvement of agricultural produce, and the development of public health services in border areas.


-- NNT 2015-01-08

[DonaldBattles]

Seems like a good idea. We have to wait and see what happens. A lot has to do with how much each side is willing to give for what they get in return.

[brianmarinus]

guess that always is the case in any deal

[LawrenceChee]

I hope to see all this happen in my lifetime

Chiang Rai will be a major hub in future partnering Chiang Mai as the tourist hub for the Chinese

Both have huge potentials to revert back in the glory days of Lanna Kingdom and be important trading posts of the north

[pomchop]

".....the dual track railway project connecting Chiang Khong with Den Chai district in Phrae province...."

so if the train does ever really happen would we need to go to Chiang Khong to catch it or would there be a stop somewhere nearer to CR town?

[DonaldBattles]

In all of the published budget planning by the government and including joint private-government projects I noticed that the train line from Chiang Kong has not been mentioned. It may very well be that it will not come about as the Nong Khai line seems to meet the Chinese needs. Should there be a new line here for sure it would stop and collect passengers from the city.

I am beginning to believe that the Chiang Kong project has been put on the back burner and with this army may not happen.

[Tomtomtom69]

"Regarding tourism in the province, the Chiang Rai governor said that the province has will provide regulations of crossing the new Mekong bridge with personal cars via the new logistics center, while the province has been holding many activities encouraging tourism in the past years."

What regulations? The regulations are the same as with any other crossing between Thailand and Laos, bridge or not. Thai and Lao cars, buses and trucks simply need a car passport and for Thai vehicles a power of attorney if the owner of the vehicle isn't present. What's new about that?

The regulations that ARE needed are what's required to bring a motorcycle across the bridge, not a car, which is straightforward. Motorcycles have had issues crossing at this bridge.

And while they have Myanmar and China at the conference, I wonder if the Chiang Rai governor has brought up the very unfair issue of Chinese cars being allowed to enter Thailand at Chiang Khong without a tour, but Thai cars can't enter China at Mohan without a tour? When will Thai cars be given reciprocal rights to travel inside China, even if it's just within Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, as per the GMS agreement, which was signed and agreed to by China but stubbornly NOT implemented? If he wants to encourage overland tourism, then it should be possible to drive a car registered in any of the 4 countries between each other but as we know, that is not the case, far from it.

"The Mae Sai district will become a Thai-Myanmar border area market and also serve as a tourism path to Mandalay in Myanmar."

And as for Mae Sai becoming a gateway to Mandalay. Well, that's sort of already the case, but as the Kengtung to Tachilek road is closed to foreigners (and reportedly even local vehicles apart from trucks are not using this road) effectively you have to fly, thus you might as well just fly from Chiang Mai and avoid going overland altogether. If the governor wants to make Mae Sai an effective gateway to Mandalay and Myanmar in general, the Myanmar side will need to open up that road for overland travel, the Burmese and Chinese will also have to open up their frontier at Mong La for overland travel and the Burmese, who currently refuse all foreign registered vehicles from entering their country except near the border unless they go on an expensive tour, will also need to open up to international traffic so Thai and Chinese cars can travel between each's others countries. As it stands even Burmese cars can't travel far inside Thailand as they are restricted from travelling beyond Mae Sai district, so I think there's still a long way to go before the governor's visions are going to be realized.

If the 4 countries can't co-operate and make an agreement on even these basic matters than I'm afraid this conference is just a massive face saving waste of time.

[boomerangutang]

It's all about money, ......and the environment gets kicked in the butt, regardless of the few pretty words spoken in favor of environmentalism.

[LawrenceChee]

It's all about money, ......and the environment gets kicked in the butt, regardless of the few pretty words spoken in favor of environmentalism.

If you live in CR...start by persuading them to stop burning ..that crap smoke comes back to CM ...thanks

This way it's not just pretty words as everyone is playing our part

[DonaldBattles]

I think most of this is eye wash BS so government officials can get their names in print. Everything changes but nothing ever changes.

When you see Burma and China open to Thai cars then it may have changed.

This brings me to this year ASEAN opening. Does anyone believe that all the cheats in these countries are going to abide by the so called agreements. Don't hold you breath until this happens.

[Tomtomtom69]

I think most of this is eye wash BS so government officials can get their names in print. Everything changes but nothing ever changes.

When you see Burma and China open to Thai cars then it may have changed.

This brings me to this year ASEAN opening. Does anyone believe that all the cheats in these countries are going to abide by the so called agreements. Don't hold you breath until this happens.

You're right. Let's see if anything ever changes. AEC 2015 is supposed to see a lot of changes and that includes China apparently coming on board too, but in reality I think it's a all a whole lot of hoopla. Personally I now cringe when I see any statement made by any sort of Thai official, unless a bilateral agreement has been made.

Case in point is the LTD director-general who last year claimed Thai driver's licences will be recognized by China from this year onwards, which any observer would most likely assume would paint the way towards Thai cars being allowed into China without the need to go on a tour. However, I wouldn't hold my breath because now it's already 2015 and there has been no announcement that there are any changes forecast any time soon. They may happen eventually but it will take time. A looonnnnggg time.