Kra Canal Issue Not Discussed Yet By Thai Gov't

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa



BANGKOK, Oct 11 (Bernama) -- The Thai government has not held any discussion on the Kra Canal issue, despite lobbying from influential Thais including former generals and businessmen for the multi-billion project to get the go-ahead.



According to Transport Minister Arkom Termpittayapaisith, the Kra Canal or Thai Canal as it is known now is a non-issue at the moment.



"We haven't discussed this issue (the Kra Canal). There is no issue on the table. So far, we haven't discussed it," he said when met at his office here recently, on the controversial project which has been deliberated by many parties since the 16th century.



According to him,  the current discussion on Kra Canal was mainly dominated by the private sector and not the government.



Although the Kra Canal project has been on the table for centuries, it garnered fresh attention recently with the advent of China's One Belt One Road (OBOR) project in reviving ancient trade routes linking Asia, Europe and Africa.



Last month, an international conference on Kra Canal was held here by the influential Thai Canal Association for Study and Development (TCA) and attended by experts from all over the world.



In his keynote address at the conference, TCA president Gen Pongthep Tesprateep, who was secretary-general to former Prime Minister Gen Surayud Chulanont, urged the Thai government to complete the feasibility study on Kra Canal.



China's experts who attended the conference echoed his statement and wanted the Thai government to act decisively and start the feasibility study. 



Besides the conference, the influential association has also managed to collect about 200,000 signatures from citizens, academics and associations in the affected areas, who wanted to see the construction of the canal.



According to experts, the 130km canal in Kra Isthmus, southern Thailand would provide vital sea link between the Indian and Pacific Ocean, shaving off more than 1,200 km or three days of sea journey without traversing the narrow and crowded Malacca Straits.



The Kra Canal will divert sea traffic from the straits which is nearing its capacity, they claimed. 



Meanwhile, Arkom was also asked on the proposal to link Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok with a High Speed Rail (HSR) system, similar to what is being implemented between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.



He replied that there had been discussion on the matter by the Thai and Malaysian governments, but it had not reached a dialogue stage yet, adding that currently there was a plan to extend the electrified rail track from Padang Besar in Perlis to Hatyai, but did not provide any details on the plan.



The 1,500km Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur rail route will shorten the journey between the two capitals to only six hours.



The two countries had during their annual consultation in Bangkok in September last year agreed to study the possibility of linking Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok via a HSR system.



-- BERNAMA

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