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According to Bloomberg, Thailand plans to build a highway that connects the Indian Ocean with the Pacific, helping to reduce the burden and shorten the time of one of the busiest shipping routes in the world that connects the two seas.
The Straits of Malacca, a narrow sea route between Malaysia and Indonesia, is currently the shortest sea route connecting the Asia-Pacific region with India and the Middle East. About a quarter of the world’s commercial goods pass through here each year and the narrowest part of the strait is only about 2.7 km wide.
“The strait has become too congested. Using an alternative route through Thailand will reduce transit times by up to 2 days and will be very valuable to businesses, ”said Thai Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob.
Thailand plans to build two deep-water ports on two sides of the southern coast, which are connected by roads and railways.
A 100 km long “land bridge” will replace the previous proposal to excavate a canal across the isthmus of southern Thailand. According to Mr. Saksiam, the canal will cause too much damage to the environment.
The idea of digging a canal through the narrowest point in the country, helping to shorten the distance to 1,200 kilometers, has been proposed many times over the past decades.
According to Mr. Saksiam, the Thai government approved a budget of 75 million baht to investigate the possibility of building two seaports, in addition to 90 million baht to study the roads and railways connecting the mentioned ports.
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