Transport minister vows to press ahead with land bridge mega project

Transport ministry will press ahead with the land bridge project, to link a deep-sea port in Ranong  on the west coast with a deep-sea port in Chumphon on the east coast by rail and motorway systems, to facilitate goods shipments to destinations beyond Thailand without going through the Straits of Malacca.

Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said it is estimated that the massive project will cost about one trillion baht. Each seaport will be capable of handling 20 million cargo containers, or TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), per year.

Suriya said that the project is now being studied by the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, adding that the Prayut administration had decided that the project will be entirely private sector funded, while the government will provide land for the two deep-sea ports and for the road and rail routes.

The transport minister…