- Land Bridge project drafted by the previous government.
- The government is seeking investors for a project estimated at $30.97 billion.
- The alternative route to the Strait of Malacca will be 900 km long.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has given Thailand impetus to advance a long-standing plan to create a logistical link between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with the government on Monday seeking to court Singapore as a potential investor.
The Thai government said it was relaunching a “land bridge” project across its narrow southern peninsula after recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz highlighted the vulnerability of global shipping chokepoints, including the neighboring Strait of Malacca.
The previous administration drafted legislation for the land bridge, but the proposal was abandoned during a period of political turmoil, with incomplete public hearings and environmental and health impact assessments and some resistance from residents.
A proposal is expected to be submitted to cabinet in June or July and the government would seek investors for the estimated $US1 trillion ($30.97 billion) project, potentially starting in the third quarter, Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said at the weekend.
Alternative route
A decades-old idea, the Land Bridge envisions two deep-water ports, one at Ranong on the Andaman Sea and another at Chumphon on the Gulf of Thailand, connected by 90 km (56 miles) of road and rail as well as energy infrastructure like pipelines.
The project would provide an alternative route to the Strait of Malacca, the 900 km (550 mile) long channel bounded by Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, which is the shortest sea route from East Asia to the Middle East and Europe.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul outlined the plan in a meeting Monday with Chan Chun Sing, the defense minister of Singapore, a major regional investor at the end of the Strait of Malacca, through which more than 100,000 ships, mostly commercial, passed last year.
“He sees this as an economic opportunity for Thailand and for foreign investors, if the project can be completed,” Thai government spokeswoman Rachada Dhanadirek said, referring to Chan, adding that he had expressed interest in the project.
Last week, Indonesia’s finance minister caused a stir by openly considering how countries could impose tolls on ships in order to monetize the Strait of Malacca, before declaring that this would not be possible and leading to several subsequent clarifications.
The land bridge is seen as more viable than the “Kra Canal”, a centuries-old idea to open a sea passage through southern Thailand, which has faced resistance due to environmental, financial and security concerns.
