Bloomberg News reported on November 14 that Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told investors in San Francisco, California (USA) on November 13 that the project could cut travel time by an average of four days and reduce shipping costs by 15%. He affirmed that with traffic expected to exceed the capacity of the Strait of Malacca by 2030, the new project would ensure the smooth flow of goods.
The new project, called Landbridge, will cost about 1 trillion baht ($28 billion), with ports to be built on either side of the country's southern peninsula and connected by a network of highways and railways, according to the Thai government.
The 100-kilometer link would replace Thailand’s decades-long proposal to dredge a canal across the Kra Isthmus. That proposal would have cut the distance by 1,200 kilometers through Thailand’s narrowest point, but has been repeatedly rejected over environmental concerns.
The Strait of Malacca, a narrow sea route between Malaysia and Singapore, is the shortest sea route connecting the Asia-Pacific region with India and the Middle East.
Prime Minister Srettha said about a quarter of the world’s trade passes through the Strait of Malacca and that it would only get busier, driving up shipping costs. He also noted that there are an average of more than 60 maritime accidents a year in the waterway.
“The Landbridge will be an important additional route to support shipping and an important option to solve the problems of the Malacca Strait. It will be a cheaper, faster and safer route,” Mr. Srettha stressed.
Srettha said the Landbridge project would create 280,000 jobs and boost Thailand’s annual economic growth to 5.5% when fully implemented. The Thai economy grew 2.6% last year and is forecast to grow 2.5% to 3% in 2023, according to Bloomberg.
The Thai government aims to complete the Landbridge project by 2030 and foreign investors will be allowed to own more than 50% of the shares in joint ventures with Thai companies in the construction of the port and related infrastructure.
Prime Minister Srettha also stressed that the Landbridge project "offers an unprecedented opportunity to invest in a commercially and strategically important project connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans, connecting people in the East with the West".
Thai officials will make a presentation about the Landbridge project to potential US investors at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in San Francisco this week.
Prime Minister Srettha said that the U.S. companies interested in the project include SSA Marine Inc., Port of Long Beach, Oracle Corp. and Webtec. Mr. Srettha had previously introduced the Landbridge project to investors in China and Saudi Arabia.
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