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"Rail canal" technology could be the answer to those who doubt the viability of the controversial Kra Canal project, fearing it could split Thailand into two parts if a huge canal is dug at the Kra Isthmus in the South.
The narrow strip of land, about 62 miles wide, would remain intact. Large vessels would still cross from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean and vice versa via the canal using railway technology that will allow huge container ships to move on giant rails over the land mass.
Logistics experts believe the technology is a good option for Thailand in its effort to become a new shipping route and an alternative to the Strait of Malacca in Singapore, since no massive excavation of land in the proposed Kra Canal area would be necessary.
According to an expected proposal from South Korea, the Thai government will be offered the
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technology to build the "rail canal" at the Kra Isthmus. The site is from Ranong province's Kra Buri district on the west to Chumphon province on the east with a distance of 35 miles. This infrastructure will allow the movement of ships from one ocean to the other overland through the rail canal.
Jinyu Choi, director-general of the Korea Railroad Research Institute, said that the construction cost of the rail canal would be about $4.8 billion, cheaper than the estimated $7.1 billion needed to build the conventional canal.
The proposed route in southern Thailand would be able to cut more than 1200 miles and two days off the shipping route currently achieved through the Strait of Malacca.
For more of the Nation Multimedia story: www.nationmultimedia.com
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