On May 25, 2025, the Laotian Thanaleng Dry Port Company and Malaysia’s Penang Port Sdn Bhd officially signed a strategic cooperation memorandum to jointly develop a new rail-sea intermodal transport corridor connecting the China-Laos Railway with Malaysia’s west coast ports. This collaboration marks a significant breakthrough in regional logistics network construction between the two countries.

This innovative multimodal transport corridor will fully leverage the transportation advantages of the China-Laos Railway. By seamlessly connecting with Malaysia’s five major ports, it will establish a logistics artery spanning the Indochinese Peninsula and the Malacca Strait. According to Railway Supply News, the corridor is expected to reduce cross-border logistics time by 30% and transportation costs by 25%, significantly enhancing intra-ASEAN trade efficiency.

As the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, Laos has long faced geographical constraints. This cooperation will open a new sea access channel for Laos, allowing its high-quality agricultural products to reach Penang Port in Malaysia directly via rail before being transshipped to emerging markets in India, Africa, and beyond. Data shows that bilateral trade between Laos and Malaysia reached $20.9 million in 2024, with Malaysia’s exports to Laos totaling $14.2 million.

At the implementation level, the two sides will carry out comprehensive cooperation, including interconnection of logistics information platforms, promotion of “single document” multimodal transport bills, and training for port management personnel. It is estimated that after the new corridor is officially operational, the cargo handling efficiency of Malaysian ports will increase by 15%, and intra-ASEAN cross-border logistics costs are expected to decrease by 20-30%.

This collaboration will not only reshape the regional logistics landscape but also provide a new practical model for the construction of the China-ASEAN Economic Corridor. With the deepened implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), such infrastructure connectivity projects will provide critical support for regional economic integration.