Enhanced hyperlink seen as partial response to competitors posed by deliberate Thai Land Bridge
PUBLISHED : 27 Mar 2024 at 15:06
Malaysia is contemplating extending its ongoing 50-billion-ringgit ($10.6 billion) rail undertaking nearer to the border with Thailand, because it seeks to cut back financial competitors with its neighbour.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke stated the federal government is “open” to connecting the East Coast Railway Hyperlink (ECRL) to current or deliberate Thai rail infrastructure.
Thailand has been selling a so-called Land Bridge, with ports within the provinces of Ranong and Chumphon linked by a highway and rail community. It’s seen as a approach to create a brand new commerce route that might bypass Malaysia’s most profitable delivery route within the Malacca Strait. The megaproject is predicted to require an funding of no less than one trillion baht.
“The connection between Malaysia and Thailand just isn’t a zero-sum sport,” Loke advised Malaysia’s parliament on Wednesday. Each international locations face “political and financial” challenges that may be tackled collectively, and one space of cooperation is cross-border connectivity, he added.
The ECRL undertaking, which can join Malaysia’s west and east coasts, is predicted to be accomplished by 2027. Its final cease beneath the present alignment is Kota Bharu, about 40 kilometres away from the Thai border in Narathiwat.
Loke stated the influence of the Land Bridge, if it goes forward, is predicted to be restricted to Malaysia’s northernmost main port in Penang, with its two largest ports in Klang and Johor rising unscathed.
“This undertaking would possibly take 15 years to implement — whether it is began,” he stated.
