Ministry to propose B150bn deep-sea port

The Transport Ministry plans to propose to the cabinet next week a 150-billion-baht plan to develop a deep-sea port in the Deep South on the Andaman Sea in a bid to reduce logistics costs. The port, planned for Pak Bara in Satun province, would serve as a short-cut for goods bound for Europe and the Middle East that must now travel through Laem Chabang Port in the Gulf of Thailand.

The seaport at Pak Bara would require an investment of 2.6 billion baht between 2009 and 2019. It would be capable of handling 2.4 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEU) per year.

The new seaport would be 15 metres deep with a berth width of 750 metres to accommodate large vessels.

Pak Bara was chosen as the most suitable location on the west coast rather than Phuket and Krabi to avoid potential damages to the tourism sector.

Right now exports are shipped from Laem Chabang through Singapore. They take about 20 days to reach Europe and up to 12 days to Dubai. By using a port on the west coast, the shipment period could be reduced by three to four days, said Suwit Ratanachinda, president of the Thai International Freight Forwarders Association (TIFFA).But given current oil prices of more than $120 per barrel, the inland cost to transport goods produced in the central region to the Pak Bara port could be the same as the marine freight of shipping from Laem Chabang, he said.

Bangkok Post, 16.05.2008

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