Thailand land bridge plans revived
Bangkok Post: 27 Jan 2010
Landbridge plan revivedDeputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwankhiri has vowed to dust off a 400-billion-baht plan to build a landbridge from the Andaman Sea to the Gulf of Thailand.
The Southern Seaboard Development Committee will meet soon to discuss the plan and has already informed the Prime Minister, he said yesterday.
The landbridge idea has been circulating for more than 20 years. Former prime minister Chatichai Choonhavan floated the idea in 1989. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) completed the project's master plan in 1992, saying 72 billion baht would be invested during the first 10 years.
Mr Trairong pledged the public would see a clearer sign of the project's development within five months.
"Several countries, especially Japan, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, are persuading the Thai government to implement the landbridge project, especially Japan," he said.
Mr Trairong added that previous studies showed a 30-kilometre road linking Songkhla and Satun provinces with an energy pipeline would be the best route for the development.
Other projects such as a petrochemical complex and oil refinery should also be located in the areas of the two provinces, he said.
But Mr Trairong insisted the project development would be based on guidelines for industrial development after the Map Ta Phut environmental issues have been settled.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/31822/landbridge-plan-revived
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