Ships sail in the Andaman Sea on Jan. 30, 2016.

BANGKOK (Xinhua) — Thailand is putting forward a southern land bridge project to link two seas and promote rail transports, confirmed Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob on Monday.

The Rail Transport Department and the Marine Department have been assigned to jointly conduct a study and design on the southern land bridge project between Chumphorn province on the western coast of the Gulf of Thailand and Ranong province on the southeastern shores of the Andaman Sea, Saksayam said.

Advertisement

The study and design on the project, planned to begin in current fiscal year and estimated to cost a combined 90 million baht (about 2.93 million U.S. dollars), will feature a deep-sea port on each side of the land bridge and a dual-track railway in between.

The railway is designed to link the two southern coastal provinces and transport passengers and cargoes from one side of the land bridge to the other, according to the transport minister.

Advertisement

The southern land bridge project is also designed to transport seagoing cargoes to and from the Eastern Economic Corridor project in the eastern region of the country, he said.