International Seminar with Thailand’s Former Transport Minister Arkhom
- International Activities
- Integrated Transport, Arterial Transport, Urban Transport
- Railways and Railway and Area Development
- Road transport
- Logistics
| Organizer | Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI) |
|---|---|
| Date / Time | Wed, Nov 27,2019 10：00～12：00 (Hall opens at 9：30) |
| Venue | Station Conference Tokyo, Sapia Tower 5F (503) （1-7-12 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005 ） |
| Theme | Current and Future Japan-Thailand Relations in the Transportation Field |
| Lecturer | Opening Remarks: Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman, JTTRI Honorable Guest Remarks: Kozo Fujita, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan Special Lecture: Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Former Minister of Transport, the Kingdom of Thailand Moderator： Tuenjai Fukuda, Secretary-General, ATRANS（Asian Transportation Research Society） Dialogue: Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Former Minister of Transport, the Kingdom of Thailand Atsushi Fukuda, Professor, Dept. of Transportation Systems Engineering, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University Closing Remarks: Tetsuya Okuda, Executive Director,Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI) President, Japan International Transport and Tourism Institute, USA (JITTI USA) |
Event Summary
Opening remarks for this seminar were provided by Mr. Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman of the Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI), followed by guest remarks from Mr. Kozo Fujita, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Mr. Naoki Fujii, Vice-Minister for International Affairs, MLIT, also participated in the seminar.Next, Mr. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Former Minister of Transport, the Kingdom of Thailand, serving until this July for five years to promote transport policies of the Kingdom of Thailand, gave a special lecture on the current state of and future prospects for the relationship between Japan and Thailand in the transport sector.
Following this lecture, a panel discussion was held in which a variety of topics were discussed, including future prospects for the development of urban railways, high-speed railways in Thailand, and cooperation between Japan and Thailand in the transport sector. Dr. Tuenjai Fukuda, Secretary-General of the Asian Transportation Research Society（ATRANS）moderated the panel discussion, accompanied by Mr. Arkhom and Prof. Atsushi Fukuda of Nihon University.
.
Program of the seminar is as the following
| Opening Remarks | |
|---|---|
| Honorable Guest Remarks | |
| Special Lecture | |
|
Dialogue |
|
| Moderator |
Tuenjai Fukuda |
| Interlocutor |
Arkhom Termpittayapaisith |
| Interlocutor |
Atsushi Fukuda |
| Closing Remarks |
Outline of the seminar
[Key points of special lecture by Mr. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Former Minister of Transport, the Kingdom of Thailand]・ During his five-year term as Vice-Minister and Minister of Transport, finishing in July 2019, Mr. Arkhom planned and implemented 16 projects under a
close cooperative relationship between the Kingdom of Thailand and Japan, including a variety of railway development, road and traffic safety, regional
development, and human resources development projects.
・ As part of Thailand’s eight-year infrastructure investment plan, initiated in 2015, significant investment in infrastructure development is being promoted,
especially in the railway sector. As a result, the modernization of transport infrastructure in Thailand is rapidly progressing.
・ Especially in the urban railway sector, M-MAP2 (the 2nd Mass Rapid Transit Master Plan) is under revision due to rapid economic growth and
population concentration in urban areas. At the same time, following the opening of the Blue and Purple MRT lines, new Red and Orange MRT lines
are also being developed. In addition, construction of the national Northern, Northeasten and Eastern High-Speed Rail lines are also in progress.
・ In the road and traffic safety sectors, several efforts are underway. Examples include the introduction of school zones, improvements in road signage in
mountainous areas, the introduction of mobile mapping systems (e.g., mapping flood areas to reduce disaster damage), and the introduction of traffic
safety campaigns to reduce traffic accidents.
・ A master plan for urban development has been formulated for the area around Bang Sue Central Station, the central station for all urban and high
-speed railways in Bangkok. Redevelopment of the land around the station as a smart city is currently underway. MRTA (Mass Rapid Transit Authority
of Thailand) is also working on several human resource development initiatives, such as setting up a training center for MRT drivers.
・ JTTRI is expected to support the Kingdom of Thailand’s efforts to become a railway transport hub for ASEAN countries. The railway department (DRT)
of the Thai Ministry of Transport was established in April this year. MLIT is also expected to provide support to DRT.
[Key points of dialogue]
Discussions were mainly held on the issues of M-MAP2 and the improvement of railway service quality.
Comments from Mr. Arkhom included the following: “The importance of development in the area around Bang Sue Central Station from the perspective of traffic congestion,” “The necessity of increasing transportation capacity as railway development progresses,” and “The optimization of railway fares”.
Prof. Fukuda commented on “The necessity of the Thai government to formulate a national land development plan as a premise for discussing the development of high-speed railways” and “Japan's way of developing railways can be helpful for the Kingdom of Thailand”.
Questions from the floor were also received and discussed at the end of the seminar.
