Land Bridge panel to review past studies

PUBLISHED : 7 May 2026 at 07:17

NEWSPAPER SECTION: Business

WRITER: Wichit Chantanusornsiri

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Previous Land Bridge studies will be considered along with the evolving global context as Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas says the committee tasked with studying approaches to advancing the development project aims to reach a decision within 90 days.

Mr Ekniti said past studies will serve as a guideline, with the new study considering all dimensions.

This new committee was needed, despite three prior studies, because they were conducted several years ago and the global economic landscape has changed, he noted.

The project must be assessed in the current global context, considering the Middle East war and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, said Mr Ekniti.

The committee will review the project's feasibility and examine its environmental, social and community impacts in the project areas, he said.

"This is a major national project that must be carefully reviewed and conducted with transparency," Mr Ekniti said.

The Land Bridge is a long-discussed proposal to link the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea via a transport corridor across the southern peninsula, with deep-sea ports in Chumphon and Ranong connected by road and rail. The investment cost is estimated at 1 trillion baht.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul appointed Mr Ekniti to lead a government committee tasked with studying the proposed Land Bridge project for 90 days.

Mr Anutin said the review should consider shifting geopolitical dynamics and align with Thailand's infrastructure strategy, as previous project studies were conducted amid a different global context.

In a separate development, Mr Ekniti addressed the cabinet's resolution regarding the issuance of an emergency decree authorising the Finance Ministry to borrow up to 400 billion baht, responding to opposition claims that it constituted a "blank cheque".

He said while the decree grants borrowing authority, project funding details would be specified later.

A screening committee chaired by the finance permanent secretary will be responsible for selecting projects eligible for loans, said Mr Ekniti.

Use of the emergency loan must be transparent, with proposed projects published on a website to allow public scrutiny, he said.

The reason for issuing an emergency decree is Thailand's economy is facing a global energy crisis, with no clear indication of when it will end, noted Mr Ekniti.

Relying on the normal fiscal 2026 budget, which is expected to involve a budget transfer act allowing reallocations of no more than 50 billion baht to fund public assistance and the country's transition programmes, would be insufficient to address the current challenges, he said.

Meanwhile, the 2027 budget does not come into effect until October, which is too slow to provide timely relief to affected people and businesses, said Mr Ekniti.

He shrugged off Democrat Party deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij petitioning the Constitutional Court to rule the decree unconstitutional under Section 172.

Mr Ekniti noted in the past, he had justified a similar emergency borrowing decree issued under a Democrat-led government.

In 2009, the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration issued an emergency decree authorising 400 billion baht in borrowing to restore and strengthen economic stability following the global financial crisis that wrecked Thailand's economy, despite various stimulus measures introduced by the government proving insufficient.

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- KEYWORDS

- Thailand land bridge project

- Southern thailand infrastructure

- Chumphon ranong transport corridor

- Thailand economic development

- Ekniti nitithanprapas

- Thailand emergency loan decree

- Gulf of thailand andaman sea link