VOA新闻杂志2023--Thailand Pushes ‘Land Bridge’ to Speed Trade

Thailand Pushes ‘Land Bridge’ to Speed Trade

Thailand is looking for investment to build a "land bridge" across the narrow southern part of the country. The Southeast Asian nation hopes to provide a shorter path for cargo¹ between the Pacific and Indian oceans without having to go through the Malacca Strait and Singapore.

Under the plan, cargo would travel by highway and railroad from the area of Chumpon on the Gulf² of Thailand to Ranong on the Indian Ocean to be loaded onto waiting ships.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has been seeking support for the $28-billion project from investors³ around the world. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering⁴ in San Francisco, Srettha said the land bridge would connect the oceans "without requiring ships to sail down along the tip of Singapore, known to experience congestion⁵ and would cut transport duration." He called it a "very important project, not just for Thailand, but also for the world."

Thailand says it is open to interest from all investors. After a meeting with Japanese businesses and leaders, Srettha said there was interest in the project without providing additional information. Thai transport minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said more than 10 American companies expressed interest without naming them.

China's interest in the area

China, an important trade nation in the area, has not commented on the plan for the land bridge.

For many years, Chinese businesses have been pushing for a deepwater project called the Kra Canal. The canal would cross the Kra Isthmus⁶ and would permit large ships to pass. The proposed project would cut at least one day of sailing time from passing through the Malacca Strait.

Former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha set up a Chinese-supported center to study the canal idea. But it has never started because of the cost and possible environmental damage.

Sompong Putivisutisak, a professor at Chulalongkorn University, has studied the land bridge proposal. Sompong said, "(China) won't give away its position that easily until it sees the other investors."

He told VOA there are two reasons that China would invest in the land bridge project: "First, financial benefits, secondly⁷ geopolitics. Financially, this project is not worth the investment, but geopolitically it could be interesting as China would have control over both seas."

At a Belt and Road Initiative meeting in Beijing last October, Thai officials said the land bridge could be connected to another high-speed railway under construction from Thailand to Singapore. Srettha even drew a map of the route during a meeting, which he posted online.

But critics say the plan is unlikely to win China's full backing. They say a land bridge would require loading and unloading cargo from ships and would not save any time.

Somboon Kamhang, chairman of the Coordinating⁸ Committee on Development, called it "another dreamy project." He told VOA, "China isn't interested in the land bridge project. Building a land bridge is just way too costly⁹ and time-consuming, but China can get behind the canal idea which could give it more control over the region."

Words in This Story

cargo –n. goods that are transported by a vehicle

congestion –n. the state of being too full or crowed with something

duration –n. the amount of time something lasts

benefits –n. (pl.) good results from some choice or action

time-consuming –adj. taking a lot of time

1 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

5 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

6 isthmus   

n.地峡

参考例句：

• North America is connected with South America by the Isthmus of Panama.巴拿马海峡把北美同南美连接起来。
• The north and south of the island are linked by a narrow isthmus.岛的北部和南部由一条狭窄的地峡相连。

7 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

8 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。