Thailand assesses $27.4-bln land bridge project to drive growth – 2023-10-17

BANGKOK, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Thailand is assessing a
massive land bridge project in the country’s south, Prime
Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday, involving estimated
investments worth 1 trillion baht ($27.44 billion) which would
help boost growth and global trade.

Bidding and construction would begin in 2025, and create
280,000 jobs in the southern provinces of Ranong and Chumpon, a
government study showed, with the state-planning agency
estimating the project could raise economic growth to 5.5%
annually. Thailand’s economy is forecast to grow 2.8% this year
and 4.4% next year.

“It will be an important connector for logistics for
transporting goods between India, the Middle East and Africa,”
he told reporters during a visit to Beijing to attend the Belt
and Road Forum.

Thailand’s new government, which came into power in August,
is assessing the ambitious project, that would involve building
two deep sea ports and 90 kilometres (55.92 miles) of road and
rail connecting transport between the Andaman Sea and Gulf of
Thailand. It would bypass the congested Strait of Malacca, a
narrow sea lane between Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Having a land bridge makes (investors) more interested,” he
said, as the government bids to spur investments and stimulate
economic growth.

The government plans to meet potential investors for the
project this November.

“The land bridge will reduce transport time and cost,
avoiding congestion from the Malacca Straits … incentivizing
transport operators to use this route,” the government statement
said.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed
in 2030 and would see container shipment capacity of 10 million
twenty-foot equivalent unit (MTEU) with full capacity of 40 MTEU
in 2039.

($1 = 36.4400 baht)
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat,
Editing by Bernadette Baum)