Introduction:
Geography creates strategy, and strategy determines pattern. In southern Thailand, a narrow isthmus separated by the Pacific and Indian Oceans carries Thailand's ambitions to become a land-sea hub. This is the famous Kra Isthmus. For hundreds of years, it has been a gateway to land and sea, and has witnessed countless business trips. Today, with the acceleration of regional integration, the Kra Isthmus is once again in the spotlight.
The rise and fall of the Kra Canal concept
Between 2014 and 2015, there were rumors that China and Thailand were interested in building a 102-kilometer canal on the Kra Isthmus, costing $28 billion. If the Kra Canal is completed, ships departing from China will be able to avoid the congested Strait of Malacca and go directly to the Indian Ocean, saving more than 1,200 kilometers of voyage and 2-3 days. However, this ambitious plan eventually fell abrupt, and the Chinese embassy in Thailand made it clear that officials were never involved in researching or collaborating on the project.
Analysis of the pros and cons of the Kralu Bridge scheme
Time flies, and the years turn. In 2023, Thailand's new Prime Minister Saitha once again kicked off the development of the Kra Isthmus during his visit to China, but this time the protagonist has changed from a canal to a land bridge. According to Thailand's plan, the US$28 billion land bridge project will build about 90 kilometers of railways and highways between the two deep-water ports of Chumphon and Ranong as a transshipment corridor for goods.
Theoretically, the Kralu Bridge could shorten the voyage, but it was not easy to achieve this. The first is the double loading and unloading process, where the cargo is unloaded onto the train and then reloaded at the other end, which undoubtedly increases time and cost. The second is the problem of vehicle and ship matching, a large cargo ship can carry tens of thousands of containers, which is equivalent to hundreds of trains, and how to efficiently coordinate the capacity is a huge challenge.
Due to shipping costs, does an empty ship need to return or change to a new ship? This in turn involves a series of complex scheduling problems such as ship types and container sequences. Finally, containerized cargo accounts for only a small part of international trade, and how to efficiently handle other types of goods such as grain, ore, crude oil is also a major challenge that Landbridge must face.
Combined with the new development model of the China-Laos-Thailand railway
In the face of the above difficulties, the author believes that the vitality of the Kralu Bridge project does not lie in its independent operation, but in the deep integration with the China-Laos-Thailand Railway to build a new development model of "China-Laos-Thailand Railway + Kralu Bridge". Specifically, the China-Laos-Thailand railway will be extended from Bangkok to the Kra Isthmus, with the help of a land bridge to achieve a seamless connection to the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Under this model, goods from central and western China or the Indochina Peninsula can be transported to the Kralu Bridge by the China-Laos-Thailand Railway, and then transported to the Pacific Ocean or the Indian Ocean through two deep-water ports, forming a two-way circulation between inland and ocean. In turn, ocean-going cargo can use this channel to efficiently enter China and the Indochina hinterland. In the long run, this development model of "China-Laos-Thailand Railway + Kra Land Bridge" is expected to evolve into an upgraded version of "China-Laos-Thailand + Kra Land Bridge + New Malaysia-Thailand", thereby consolidating Thailand's position as a land and sea hub in the Malay Peninsula region.
Throughout history, the Kra Isthmus has been an important passage where Eastern and Western civilizations meet. Now, with the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative and the acceleration of regional integration, this strategic location is once again in the spotlight. Whether it's a canal or a land bridge, it reflects Thailand's obsession with reviving its glory and strengthening its status as a hub. However, we must be soberly aware that any development needs to follow objective laws, and only by combining regional reality and building a three-dimensional transportation network with the help of multimodal transport can we truly release the strategic value of the Kra Isthmus, so as to promote the process of regional integration and achieve common development, win-win and common prosperity.