PUBLISHED: 26 Apr 2025 at 03: 30
The government is pushing legislation to support the Southern Economic Corridor ( SEC ) and the Land Bridge megaproject linking the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.
According to Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning ( OTP ) has completed public hearings in Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat, all of which are involved in both the SEC and the 1-trillion-baht Land Bridge project.
The OTP will then release the expenses using the suggestions from people reading panels and consider the final bill review for cabinet approval by next month.
The bill did been proposed to the House when the public period begins on July 3. It is expected to finish the three reading periods in September.
The document is set to have Senate checking for two months, then the OTP may get royal approval for the SEC Office and commission formation at the end of this time, said Ms Manaporn.
After that, offer files for shareholders may be prepared in the first fourth of 2026 before a selling process in the following quarter.
Structure will start in the second third of next year before a slated implementation in 2030, she added.
The job will not be affected by the US’s bilateral tax plan, said Ms Manaporn, as it will bring demands from delivery lines and investors looking for cost-effective logistics in an effective location like Thailand. She expressed confidence that the project could kick off under the term of this government.
OTP director-general Panya Chupanich said that the SEC Act received feedback from at least 9, 000 participants, with more than 8, 000 reacting positively to the bill.
As for the project’s progress, he said that OTP had completed the environmental impact assessment ( EIA ) and will start the contractor bidding this year as planned.
Bidders are expected to bid for developments of deep-sea ports, motorways and railways, under one contract, said Mr Panya, in order to achieve an integration of infrastructure, resulting in an efficient management of the project.
International bidders are welcome to bid along with Thai investors under joint ventures, with no stake ratio caps, he said. The first-phase bidding is expected to be valued at 500 billion baht.
Mr Panya said the Land Bridge would help support the export of processed agricultural products from the South.
The 1-trillion-baht Land Bridge, connecting Ranong with Chumphon is expected help ease congestion in the Strait of Malacca, said Mr Panya, and help reduce shipping time by three days, and shipping costs by 15 %.