Berlin ‘keen on land bridge’

According to travel minister Suriya, the minister welcomes buyer show in Germany.

Berlin ‘keen on land bridge’
The German adviser to Thailand, Ernst Wolfgang Reichel, and Suriya Jungrungreangkit, the secretary of transportation, will meet on Tuesday. ( Image: Ministry of Transportation )

Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit stated on Wednesday that Germany has expressed a strong interest in Thailand’s Land Bridge proposal and has invited the state to host an investor show there.

He said this following a meeting with Ernst Wolfgang Reichel, the European ambassador to Thailand, during which the two spoke about several facets of their bilateral cooperation as well as the country’s major transportation initiatives.

” Plainly, the German side was interested in the land bridge task. Additionally, the ambassador will inform the German government of the project, which, in his opinion, may be of interest to some European investors, according to Mr. Suriya.

According to the secretary, Mr. Reichel requested that the Thai authorities hold a roadshow to encourage the proposal in Germany after stating that it had been well received by numerous foreign investors.

According to him, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has been organizing a number of roadshows to spread awareness of the job throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

A number of special events aimed at foreign investment will start later this month and last through January, Mr. Suriya said, even though the task will be subject to public sessions around the planned sites in the Chumphon and Ranong provinces.

When he attends the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) meetings in San Francisco the following week, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin also plans to discuss the project.

The Ranong-Chumphon job is the most recent in a lengthy line of initiatives to cut off shipping through the Strait of Malacca and connect the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. A road-rail-pipe system would connect the interface and industrial property developments at either end.

With community and environmentalist opposition being a major barrier, earlier land bridge proposals have not been successful.

The new government has since improved the Ranong-Chumphon area bridge, which was originally proposed by the previous administration and cost an estimated 1 trillion baht to build.

According to Mr. Suriya, the results of the ongoing hearings, which are anticipated to take about two months, will be submitted along with other documents for an environmental health impact assessment ( EHIA ), which should be finished by late in the following year.

Then, between April and June of 2025, invitations to pay may be distributed to potential investors, and the cabinet will receive the bid results for approval in August of that same year.

The land bridge’s five-year structure is anticipated to start in September 2025 and ending in October 2030.

According to the secretary, 300 billion of the 1 trillion ringgit budget will be used to build a new seaport in Chumphon on the Gulf side, and another 330 billion will go toward building another port there.