PM says controversial land bridge project can wait

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told Thai media in China’s Chengdu that the controversial land bridge project can wait and the seaports in the southern provinces of Ranong and Chumphon should be upgraded as the first priority.

He added, however, that the land bridge remains a flagship policy of his government and further study will continue, but that an urgent infrastructure project must be implemented, to connect the Ranong province on the western coast with Chumphon province on the eastern coast, and a land-based logistics infrastructure to connect with other countries in the region.

The prime minister also said that, during his informal discussions with about 150 Thai businessmen over lunch in Chengdu, the chairman of the Board of Trade and Thai Chamber of Commerce, Poj Aramwattananont, had suggested that the land bridge could be delayed by 5-10 years and that a rail link between the eastern with the western coasts should be implemented first.

Meanwhile, about 400 people from Ranong and Chumphon provinces staged a march in Ranong today to protest against the twin projects of the land bridge and Southern Economic Corridor.

Tanwa Kwanthong, a protest leader, said the projects will ruin the environment, natural resources and livelihoods of the people in Ranong province.

Kittisak Thowsombat, a resident of Ranong, said he doubts whether the two huge projects would bring prosperity or improve the livelihoods of the southern people.

The land bridge project features deep-sea ports in Chumphon on the east coast with Ranong on the western coast, linked by an 89km motorway, dual-track railway and pipelines for oil transport, to bypass the congested Strait of Malacca. Each port will be designed with a capacity of 20 million TEUs.

The investment required is estimated at about one trillion baht.