Thailand's Laem Chabang Set To Become One of World Top Ports

BANGKOK, Jan 13 (TNA) - Thailand's Ministry of Transport has set a target to develop Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port in the eastern Chonburi Province to become one of the world’s top ten advance port over the next decade. Transport Minister Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol Suwanatat said that his ministry also plans to turn the Laem Chabang Port, Thailand's largest commercial deep-sea port, to be a regional marine transport hub over the next 10 years, when goods shipments will be mostly caterd at the port under his ministry's single port policy. Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol revealed that under the policy, the Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port will be upgraded from the world's 22nd most advance port currently to be on the world's top ten most advance port list by 2022 when the Pak Bara and the Dawei Deep Sea Ports, as well as a new dual railroad development projects, connecting regional transport and logistics, will fully operated. According to the transport minister, once Thailand's Laem Chabang Deep Sea Port efficiently becomes a regional and a world marine transport hub, supported by the newly-developed dual railroad directly linking the Pak Bara (ปากบารา) and the Songkhla (สงขลา) Deep Sea Ports, it will facilitate and serve greater Thai exports to overseas markets, especially Europe, Africa and the Middle East, saving tremendous transportation costs and time. The Thai transport minister acknowledged that his ministry may then transform the Port of Bangkok in Klong Toey area to be a domestic tranport centre, saying that the Port Authority of Thailand or PAT has been assigned to work out the country's new port development strategies, under which all the port development plans are included with clear implementation timeframes. (TNA)