Danucha revealed that the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has never studied the land bridge, explaining that it only opposed the Thai Canal during Prime Minister Prayut's administration because it was not economically worthwhile. He pointed out that having the Southern Special Economic Corridor alongside would bring significant benefits to the country.
28 Apr 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Danucha Pichayanan, Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) commented on the case where NESDC had previously studied that the land bridge project was not economically viable since the time of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, he said that NESDC has not studied the land bridge issue. What the office worked on during General Prayut's time was the Thai Canal. The Prime Minister and the Thai Canal Association asked NESDC to examine what benefits might arise. So, we conducted a preliminary study on the advantages of the Thai Canal, comparing it to the Southern Economic Corridor and the land bridge.
The comparison showed that the Thai Canal would bring the lowest benefits, followed by the land bridge, which would require very high investment. Without further industrial development, a land bridge alone would not yield much benefit. But compared to developing the Southern Special Economic Corridor, which includes industrial zones—light industries or agricultural sectors—the benefits would be greater. He emphasized that NESDC has never seriously studied the land bridge issue. When asked if the project deemed unprofitable was the Thai Canal, Danucha confirmed that the Thai Canal project studied would not be worthwhile if implemented.
Regarding the government currently pushing forward with the land bridge project, Danucha said it depends on the project’s design and investment. It is necessary to compare and consider what benefits will arise because merely shipping goods is insufficient; industrial areas and further development are needed. Importantly, Thailand currently lacks a real export port on the west coast. Starting with building a port at Ranong and then expanding could be an option, depending on the project's specific details. The Ministry of Transport is the agency that has been studying this thoroughly and seriously for some time.
When asked if the study concluded the project would be worthwhile or suitable for implementation, Danucha said it is too early to answer. They need to review the components and details of the project and examine the procedural steps involved. “If you ask me what should be done, I would say that currently the west coast does not have a port capable of serious export operations—not small boats or vessels that must transship goods in Malaysia. If we have our own port connected to domestic industrial areas to ship goods to India, the Middle East, and Europe, then developing a west coast port would allow products from Laem Chabang to be exported directly from there, which would benefit the country.”