PUBLISHED : 2 Mar 2025 at 05:22
The Thai Canal Association for Study and Development wants a national committee to study the feasibility of connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea via the proposed 9A Canal Route. The project, if approved, could create up to a million new jobs, its advocates say.
Led by its president, Gen Pongthep Thetprateep, the association submitted a petition to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra during the government’s mobile meeting at the Thale Noi Non-Hunting Area in Khuan Khanun district, Phatthalung, on Feb 17.
Narong Soomthong, chairman of the 9A Canal Route Feasibility Study Committee, said the national study committee was proposed to the House after the canal’s feasibility study passed the Senate. However, due to an insufficient House quorum, discussions on forming the 49-member committee were postponed.
“The Thai Canal Association decided to submit the petition because of its confidence in the government’s ability to manage the project,” Mr Narong said. The petition calls for the creation of a national committee to further study the feasibility of the 9A Canal Route.
Experts from various fields, including environmental and biodiversity specialists, as well as cultural impact analysts, will be included. The 9A Canal Route, also known as the Thai Canal project, would be 300–400 metres wide and 15–18 metres deep.
The 135-kilometre canal would extend from Ao Luk Port in Krabi’s Ao Luk district on the Andaman Sea, passing through Trang, Phatthalung, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and ending in Songkhla’s Ranot district at Ban Tha Bon on the Gulf of Thailand.
Mr Narong said the canal would help Thailand navigate economic challenges, particularly for the financially vulnerable, by ensuring the broad distribution of its benefits.
If completed, the canal could handle at least 300 billion tonnes of logistics vessels annually and create between 500,000 and one million new jobs, he said.
“It will also provide lifelong compensation to locals in the five provinces affected by its construction,” Mr Narong added.
