BANGKOK – Recently, Chinese delegations from at least two groups, one from Kunming and another from Chengdu, visited the Land Bridge project sites in Chumphon and Ranong provinces in southern Thailand.
Reporters from “Prachachat” reported that a delegation from the Kunming Municipal Communist Party Committee led by Mr. Liu Hongjian, member of the Yunnan Provincial Communist Party Committee and secretary of the Kunming Municipal Communist Party Committee, along with a twelve-member team, traveled to the Gulf of Thailand side in Chumphon Province and to the Andaman Sea side in Ranong Province on 19 May 2024 to discuss and exchange views and inspect the construction sites of the land bridge project.
This visit by Mr. Liu is seen as an on-site inspection to assess the feasibility and opportunities for China in relation to this project, including the “trial” of multimodal transport between Kunming-Vientiane-Bangkok-Ranong.
Mr. Liu is considered the third most important figure in the Yunnan Communist Party. Previous Chinese delegations have discussed the land bridge project with the Thai port authority, indicating the Chinese government’s interest in the project as a transportation route for goods from southern China through Laos and Thailand to the deep-sea ports in Chumphon and Ranong. This is in addition to the transshipment of goods via the ports connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
After talks between the two parties in Ranong port, representatives of the Thai cargo companies proposed:
- A large-scale test of the end-to-end transportation system for handling goods from Kunming-Vientiane to Nong Khai and then to Ranong, where goods are shipped to third countries destined for Myanmar, the Middle East and India via Ranong Port to test the issuance of documents, permits and customs procedures.
- The establishment of a bilateral working group, which has been positively received by the Chinese side and will discuss further details.
However, from the discussions with the participating delegates, it emerged that the Thai government is still in the process of “listening” to investors’ views on the land bridge project. This includes obtaining feedback from Chinese investors, which is an important objective. Previous consultations with investor groups from Europe, the Middle East and China have shown that there are differing views on the project.
European investors, for example, focus on the project’s cost-effectiveness in terms of time and shipping costs compared to bypassing the Strait of Malacca and connecting the two coasts via the land bridge project. Chinese investors, on the other hand, are considering the shipping routes from southern China via the two deep-sea ports of Chumphon and Ranong or the north-south route.
There is a belief that the success of the land bridge project depends on three factors:
- The connection of the two coasts between the countries on the Pacific Ocean side, including East Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania, and the countries on the Indian Ocean side, including South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, which provide transshipment opportunities.
- The development of industries along the 89 km stretch of railroad connecting the deep sea ports of Ranong and Chumphon.
- Development into an energy hub for the transportation of oil and gas.
It was recently reported that shortly after the return of Mr. Liu Hongjian’s delegation from Kunming, the Sichuan or Chengdu One Belt One Road Economic and Trade Promotion Association will lead a group of Chinese companies to Thailand from 27 to 31 May 2024 to assess the feasibility of the land bridge project.
The Chengdu delegation will meet with the Ministry of Transport’s Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) and the Thai Ports Authority to inspect the deep-sea ports to be built in both Chumphon and Ranong, and will also hold talks with Thai commercial banks.
The Ministry of Transport has assigned the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) to study and conduct a preliminary design of the Land Bridge project using a Business Development Model. The project’s role is set to be a Gateway, supporting import-export activities of Thailand and countries in the ASEAN region, including the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and southern China.
It will also serve as an alternative for Transshipment of goods between the BIMSTEC group and countries in the Pacific Ocean, connecting rail and road networks and Port Industry. A free economic zone will be established to attract investors.
The project development model will be a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), with the private sector investing in the entire project in a One Port Two Sides manner. The project’s progress is currently in the Roadshow phase to gather information from investors, which will result in further adjustments to the project model. The total value of the entire Land Bridge project (all 4 phases) is estimated at 1,001,206.47 million baht or 29.02 billion USD.
However, this project has faced opposition and raised concerns regarding its economic viability, impact on local communities’ way of life, and potential effects on the environment and natural resources.
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