"Thai Bridge" is a bridge across the Gulf of Thailand from Chonburi to Phetchaburi, valued at approximately 990 billion baht, one of the mega projects of the government under the EEC initiative, utilizing the largest budget ever seen in Thailand. However, the critical question is whether it is worth it? What are the risk factors involved?

In the context of the country's economy showing signs of recession, there is an effort to push forward mega projects, starting with the push from the Minister of Transport for the “Southern Land Bridge”, which involves constructing a motorway and railway over a distance of approximately 120 kilometers to connect both sides of the sea, allowing large cargo ships from Europe to bypass the Malacca Strait or stop at the Singapore port. This project is estimated to cost around 60-70 billion baht.

Meanwhile, Supattanapong Punmeechaow, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, has introduced the study project for the Thai Bridge under the “EEC”, which involves building a bridge across the Gulf of Thailand from Chonburi to Phetchaburi over a distance of 80-100 kilometers, valued at 990 billion baht, making it the largest budget project in Thailand's history.

The issue is whether the Thai Bridge project will connect with the “Southern Land Bridge”. What is it built for? What are the outcomes? What is the investment worth, and what are the risk factors? Simply stating that it will benefit Thai cement and steel industries as an economic stimulus is not enough, as the industries that will benefit are mostly large quasi-monopolistic industries, while SMEs and local communities gain little or nothing at all.

If the goal is to reduce logistics costs for domestic transportation and promote tourism, simply building a bridge connecting Pattaya and Hua Hin, which are major tourist destinations on both sides of the Gulf of Thailand, would suffice, reducing the distance by no less than 400 kilometers. At the same time, the Thai Bridge could become a national “Landmark”.

Currently, the distance from Laem Chabang across the Thai Gulf Bridge to Ranong Port is no less than 700 kilometers or more. The transportation cost by trailer truck is approximately 30,000-35,000 baht per container, not including the toll fees for crossing the bridge, which is at least 2-3 thousand baht, and the loading and unloading fees between the two ports (approximately 2,500 baht). It is well known that maritime transport is seven times cheaper than road transport. For instance, comparing the shipping cost from Surat Thani to Laem Chabang Port, the total cost is around 13,900 baht, which clearly indicates whether it is worth it or not.

First, it is essential to understand that the cost of international maritime transport is more critical than the time saved of 2-3 days. The reality is that bringing a ship in to dock and unloading goods at the port to wait for trucks can take days, as trucks cannot pick up goods directly from the ship; they must be piled up at the container yard. Meanwhile, the distance of 650-700 kilometers takes no less than 6 hours. If one were to continue to Laem Chabang to load containers onto a ship, they would have to wait for the ship and load the containers again, resulting in “Double Handling”, increasing both time and costs. No matter how you look at it, it is not worth it.

For comparison, consider a ship coming from Amsterdam, the northernmost port in Europe, to Laem Chabang. The total cost for an incoming ship is approximately 51,000 baht, while for an outgoing ship, it is about 45,000 baht. Compared to using the Thai Bridge route, just the trucking costs are already quite similar, not including the “Freight Charge”, which may seem complex for those unfamiliar but can reveal the feasibility upon analysis.

We need to think carefully. As far as I know, there are projects in China connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai, and in Japan, there is a bridge project across Tokyo Bay between Chiba and Yokohama. If the government intends to proceed, it must answer the questions clearly about what is desired. If it is merely for tourism, investing in just the bridge across the Gulf of Thailand should suffice, and as a bonus, it would reduce travel and transport time by one-third without having to go through the heavily congested Rama II Road. However, if the plan is to build a bridge spanning several hundred kilometers to connect the transport routes between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, hoping that Ranong Port will become the second Singapore Port... Dreaming is one thing, but reality is another.

SOURCE : www.bangkokbiznews.com