Construction of the new Thailand-China railway project will commence in 2017, the Southeast Asian country’s Transport Ministry has told Chinese media.

The first stage of the line will connect Bangkok with Nakhon Ratchasima, before being extended to Nong Khai on the Thai-Lao border. This will eventually connect with the rail line currently under construction linking China with Laos.

“We (Thailand and China) are almost done with the contract; 90% I will say. The construction will start in this year for sure,” Chatchai Thipsunaree, permanent secretary of Thailand’s Transport Ministry told Xinhua, the Chinese news agency.

The Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima project will be a 252km high-speed line. The second phase will extend another 355km to Nong Khai. Passengers will then be able to connect to the China-Laos railway from Vientiane to Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan province.