Thai Belt and Road project bumps into finance and liability issues

Bangkok balks at Beijing's conditions on showpiece high-speed rail line

A train runs through during the groundbreaking ceremony of the cooperation between Thailand and China on the Bangkok-Nong Khai high speed rail development in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand in 2017. © Reuters

MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondent

September 12, 2019 12:43 JST

BANGKOK -- Thailand's government is delaying China's ambitious high-speed railway project in the country as questions over financing and liabilities of the $9.9 billion infrastructure initiative remain unresolved.

Sources within Thailand's transport sector confirmed to the Nikkei Asian Review that behind-the-scenes negotiations between Bangkok and Beijing over the showpiece venture under China's Belt and Road Initiative are still ongoing.