Canals and Land Bridges: Mega-Infrastructure Proposals for Southern Thailand

Abstract

The race between two competing ideas for mega infrastructure projects in Southern Thailand has entered the final stretch. The old Khlong Thai or “Thai Canal” scheme has been overtaken by the new “Land Bridge”, which enjoys crucial support from Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob. The Land Bridge project will involve the construction of a deep-sea port in Chumphon Province on the Gulf of Thailand and the upgrading of the small port of Ranong on the Andaman Sea into a modern deep-sea port. The two ports will be connected by a dual-track railway and a motorway, which will constitute the Land Bridge for the multi-modal transport of containers and goods from the South China Sea through the Gulf of Thailand to the Indian Ocean through the Andaman Sea. [See Maps 1 and 2.] One key advantage of the Land Bridge is that it will offer international shippers an alternative route, bypassing the congested Straits of Malacca and shortening shipping time by about one day. The same advantages have been the primary selling points of the Khlong Thai proposal, which is a twentieth-century reincarnation of the age-old idea of the Kra Canal. Now, the most talked about route for the Khlong Thai is the Route 9A — which is a 135-km open canal, without locks, at least 30 metres in depth and 400 metres in width and thus allowing two-way traffic. [See Map 3.] The route runs from Ranod District in Songkhla Province on the Gulf of Thailand to Sikao District of Trang on the Andaman Sea. It offers a shortened distance of about 1,200 nautical miles between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, saving up to one whole day of sailing time on ships using the Straits of Malacca.