The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) is preparing to convene a subcommittee meeting on the Land Bridge project to assess the project's feasibility and possible development model.
According to Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the NESDC, who chairs the subcommittee on approaches to advancing the Land Bridge project, the panel is one of three subcommittees established to study the project.
The subcommittee is preparing to hold meetings and has requested information from the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) to review the project's assumptions, as well as operational issues. The panel is expected to complete its work within the 90-day timeframe approved earlier by the cabinet.
He said the subcommittee will examine the project's feasibility and determine what form the project should take.
According to Mr Danucha, the project model will depend on its underlying assumptions.
For example, if the key assumption is reducing shipping times by allowing cargo vessels to avoid the Strait of Malacca, the committee will need to assess how much time could actually be saved.
Under the proposed model, cargo ships docking at an eastern seaport would unload containers, which would then be transported overland to a western seaport before being reloaded onto another vessel.
He noted that a cargo ship typically carries around 1,000 containers, while larger vessels may carry as many as 10,000 containers. This raises questions about how logistics management and supporting facilities would be handled.
Regarding another concept to develop the area into a transhipment hub, as cargo arriving by sea does not necessarily share the same final destination, he noted that such a model may no longer qualify as a traditional Land Bridge project.
Addressing geopolitical concerns that could affect the project, he said geopolitical issues that could affect the project would depend largely on the policies of major powers.
However, the key point is that the world ahead would be very different from the past, with uncertainty expected to increase as confidence in the countries that have traditionally been at the centre of the global system declines. Countries are increasingly focused on strengthening their own security, whether in food, transportation or energy.
"At that point, we must be prepared. That is why we need to accelerate efforts on energy transition and the Land Bridge initiative. Ultimately, the project may not take the form originally envisioned. Instead, it could evolve into a strategy to strengthen the country's security, particularly through the development of national ports to support exports to Western markets."
Regarding investment in the project, Mr Danucha said that if the government approves the initiative, it would not involve full-scale investment or a one-time commitment. Instead, investment would be considered progressively based on necessity at each stage.
He added that the project is unlikely to rely on a single investor. In his view, large-scale infrastructure investments of this nature -- even by major shipping liner operators -- carry substantial risks because of the enormous capital requirements and the high possibility of failure.
"We have seen many projects that appeared promising, but because the investment costs were extremely high, the chances of success were also difficult," he said.
On whether a dedicated Southern Economic Corridor law would be required to support investment in the project, Mr Danucha said this would depend on the final structure of the Land Bridge project.
However, in his opinion, the scope of the existing Eastern Economic Corridor law could be expanded to cover the Land Bridge area, rather than introducing a separate piece of legislation.
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