28 Billion Dollars! Land Bridge Replaces The Malacca Strait! The Shipping Time Is Shortened By 4 Days, And The Transportation Cost Is Reduced By 15%.

Thailand is launching a multi-billion-dollar project that will bypass one of the world's busiest waterways, the Strait of Malacca, and significantly reduce shipping time between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told investors in San Francisco that the project could reduce sailing time by an average of four days and reduce transportation costs by 15 percent. He said that by 2030, traffic is expected to exceed the capacity of the Strait of Malacca, and the new project will ensure the seamless transport of goods.

The so-called "land bridge" project, which will cost about 1 trillion baht ($28 billion), will build seaports on both sides of Thailand's southern peninsula and connect them through highways and rail networks, according to the Thai government. The 100-kilometer (62-mile) link will replace Thailand's decades-old proposal to dredge the isthmus of the Kra Canal.

The Strait of Malacca is a narrow sea passage between Malaysia and Singapore, and it is the shortest sea route connecting the Asia-Pacific region with India and the Middle East. About 1/4 of the world's trade in goods passes through the strait, which will only become busier, pushing up shipping costs, Srettha said. He pointed out that there are an average of more than 60 maritime accidents in the strait every year.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said: "the 'land bridge' will be another important route to support transportation and an important choice to solve the Malacca Strait problem." This will be a cheaper, faster and safer route. " He said that the design throughput of the western port is 19.4 million TEUs, while that of the eastern port is 13.8 million TEUs, which together account for about 23 percent of the total cargo volume of Malacca port.

Srettha said the project would help create 280000 jobs and boost Thailand's annual economic growth rate to 5.5 percent when fully implemented. In recent weeks, he has also introduced the project to investors in China and Saudi Arabia. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy grew by 2.6 percent last year and is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2023.

Thailand plans to complete the project by 2030, and foreign investors will be allowed to build ports and related infrastructure in joint ventures with local companies, with a stake of more than 50 percent. According to the Thai Office of Transport Policy and Planning, the deep-sea ports in the Ranong Province, Andaman Sea, and Chumphon Province in the Gulf of Thailand may cost 630 billion baht.

"The land bridge provides an unprecedented opportunity to invest in this important commercial and strategic project that connects the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean and connects the people of the East and the West," he said.

Thai officials will hold a briefing for potential US investors on the sidelines of the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. U.S. companies interested in the project include SSA Marine Inc., Long Beach Port, Oracle, and Webtec, Srettha said.

For decades, Thailand has been discussing the idea of building a canal to cross the country's narrowest point and shorten the transport distance by 1200 kilometers, but the proposal has been rejected several times because of environmental problems.