by Natthaphon Sangpolsit

    

BANGKOK (NNT) - The Ministry of Transport is considering setting up state-owned national shipping lines to help connect shipments between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, as part of the government’s Land Bridge campaign.

 

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said the proposed shipping lines would support the nation’s maritime logistics system. The lines can be operated by state enterprises or subsidiaries of the Port Authority of Thailand.

 

Services will be overseen by three separate entities comprising a domestic shipping company, a company operating in the Gulf of Thailand and a firm operating in the Andaman Sea.

 

The national shipping services would help provide logistics connectivity between ports in Chumphon and Ranong provinces, in tandem with the government’s Land Bridge campaign.

 

Minister Saksayam said the proposal would be presented to the Cabinet this year, with completion set for 2029. He added that his ministry hopes the development effort will make Thailand one of the world’s top logistics players.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2022-03-05

 

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Were they not discussing this 2 months ago?  My opinion is that it will end up like Thai airways as I stated the last time the subject was broached.....

Services means costs, means possible corruption. means higher prices, means consumer pays. 

They'll need to buy some ships from China I would imagine.

First shipment will probably be container loads of brown envelops....going to need lots.

State-owned shipping lines to operate between the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

If there is such a need, where is private industry?

Where is government investment to encourage private enterprises to establish such a shipping line? Maybe too difficult be cause of anti-corruption laws.

The proposal is literally not a land bridge. It is a seaport to seaport link. A land bridge might be rail lines connecting seaports on opposite Thai coasts. But again, where is private enterprise on that topic?  

1 hour ago, mokwit said:

They'll need to buy some ships from China I would imagine.

Plenty of ships in yards in Bangladesh!????

 

 

1 hour ago, Burma Bill said:

Plenty of ships in yards in Bangladesh!????

 

 

Er, do you have something cheaper?

On 3/5/2022 at 2:11 PM, mokwit said:

They'll need to buy some ships from China I would imagine.

I think all the infrastructure, ships, crews, will be chinese flying under a thai flag, with the usual kickbacks to those here, with maybe a few token thais onboard. Thailand doesn't have the money to finance this on top of everything going on now