Thailand Accelerates Implementation of $29 Billion Indo-Pacific Dry Canal
Taarek Refaat
Thailand unveiled a draft law to establish a special economic zone in the south of the country, paving the way for a multi-billion dollar transport project linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Transport, the draft law stipulates the formation of a committee to accelerate the development of the Southern Economic Corridor in the provinces of Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani, and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Pheu Thai, led by Prime Minister Paithongtarn Shinawatra, is proposing a project known as the "Land Bridge," with an estimated cost of 1 trillion Thai baht ($29 billion), to connect two proposed seaports on either side of the country's southern peninsula via a new highway and railway. This 100-kilometer (62-mile) bridge will reduce shipping times between the Indian and Pacific Oceans by bypassing the Strait of Malacca, a narrow sea passage between Malaysia and Singapore and one of the busiest in the world.
The draft law stipulates that a new committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, will be responsible for developing logistics, infrastructure, information technology, and other facilities within the designated areas. This committee will also be tasked with securing the necessary funding for the project.
The draft law is currently being submitted for public hearings before being referred to the Cabinet and Parliament.
Former Prime Minister Sritha Thavisin, also of the Pheu Thai Party, promoted the Land Bridge project to foreign investors during his visits to the United States and China.
Thailand aims to complete the project by 2030, and foreign investors will have the opportunity to own more than 50% of the shares in joint ventures with local companies to build the infrastructure. According to the Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning Office, the cost of the deep-water seaports in Ranong on the Andaman Sea and Chumphon on the Gulf of Thailand could reach 630 billion Thai baht.
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