The new suez canal is to be about 100km, cost $8.4m and take 1 year to construct, so $28m seems perfectly reasonable for a comparable project in Thailand.

I think they are talking billions, not millions!

And those talking about trains....forget that idea....it's just not practical.

If they start digging now the whole thing will be ready to go in 5 6 7 8 9 years!

Was curious about the 'savings' in travel time. Cargo ships average 23kts (42kms/hour). Lets just say 20kts (37km/hr) for slow steaming. That's about 32 hours savings for 1200km. So how long to pass through the locks plus probably having to queue their turn? Plus, do they have to pass through immigration. Can't see much savings in time but in fuel usage.

If the canal is working, and we assume, that the time saved, would be the only advantage of the shipping companies, as they would have to pay a fee equal to the fuel savings, how many ships must pass the canal, until the complete construction and infrastructure will have been paid off? How many ships would use that advantage every day? How fast can they go inside the canal? Consider, that the allowed top speed within the canal is significantly slower, than the average cruising speed. The largest German canal is restricted to seven nmi per hour.How many well educated pilots are needed? Consider, that a larger container ship has a width of more than 56 meters (Maersk class). How wide should the canal be, 130meters? It would be nice to see a calculation from someone.

Seeing it takes 3 years to dig a <1 kilometer tunnel in pattaya this job would take over 100 years. Nothing to worry about in our lifetime.

3 years is what "they" tell us it will take. Probably 5 years more likely. In which case this canal will take maybe 200 years

But this will be built by the Chinese ! And if it goes ahead, they'ill build it within a stated time-frame, quicker than most other places in the world, similar to some of the other massive infra-structure projects they've done inside China.

Let's get real here. This canal is actually about China building a canal in Thailand, so that it will be easier for their ships to take the Chinese manufactured goods to the European Union. The perception that this benefits China only, and not really Europe, (and it's nothing to do with America), is this the reason why people are against it ?

Yes, the Suez Canal was built in Egypt by Britain and France, to make it easier for the ships to sail to and from India. The Panama Canal was built by the Americans so that the ships could sail from New York to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Is it so wrong for China to try and replicate the previous and existing world powers ?

This project pops up every now and then when somebody high up in the Government needs a substantial contribution from Singapore for his retirement plans.....

AlQaholic: YOU just nailed it ! ! !

This project pops up every now and then when somebody high up in the Government needs a substantial contribution from Singapore for his retirement plans.....

AlQaholic: YOU just nailed it ! ! !

TIT

Smoke and mirrors.....