Land bridge faces backlash as petition exceeds target overnight

An environmental group has launched a petition drive against the government-backed land bridge project, drawing more than the required 50,000 signatures overnight.

Under regulations, a minimum of 50,000 signatures is required to submit a petition to the government.

An environmental advocacy organisation, the Environmental Law Foundation (EnLAW), on Tuesday launched a nationwide campaign titled “Stop SEC Act & Land Bridge”, calling on the public to oppose the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC), or land bridge project, through an online petition.

The petition drive, hosted on stop-sec.com, aims to gather at least 50,000 signatures by June 30 to support submissions to the government and relevant agencies.

As of 10.53am today, however, the number of signatories had already reached 72,648. By 9pm on May 5, just hours after the campaign went live, 59,864 people had already signed.

Supaporn Malailoy, manager of EnLAW, said the signatures would be used to support proposals submitted to the government, demonstrating that opposition to the project extends beyond communities in the South to people across the country.

She added that the petition will remain open until the end of June and is expected to exceed 100,000 signatures.

The foundation described the land bridge as a mega infrastructure project involving land reclamation and the construction of deep-sea ports, which it said could affect green areas and local ecosystems.

The project forms part of a broader transport infrastructure plan under the Southern Economic Corridor, aimed at linking the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.

It is intended to serve as an alternative maritime trade route to the Strait of Malacca and position Thailand as a regional logistics hub.

Known as the Chumphon–Ranong Land Bridge, the project was approved in principle by the cabinet in 2018 and spans the provinces of Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat, covering a total distance of 109 kilometres.

The project’s major components include the development of deep-sea ports in Ranong and Chumphon, the construction of a dual-track railway linking Chumphon to Ranong port, and an intercity motorway.