Senior officials outlined Thailand’s plans to further develop the country’s port sector at the 14th ASEAN Ports and Shipping Conference last month in Bangkok.
“We are moving on water transport. That is the most cost-saving logistic cost,” Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told the conference.
The policy is a mixture of improved links both of ports with their regions and with other ports – and especially those within the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) region and more – a lot more – hardware.
“We are now working together,” Termpittayapaisith said of improving links at ports, but it is also true of the latter, where the Port Authority of Thailand is aiming to build and improve things.
The government is not just working with ASEAN ports such as Danang, Yangon and the yet-to-be-built Dawei, but also with sister ports such as Busan and those as far afield as Rotterdam, he went onto say.
The Port Authority outlined the infrastructure it is putting in place at the country’s two principal ports, Laem Chabang and Bangkok.
Bangkok will get a one-stop service centre, coastal terminal development and a container freight station, whilst the gateway facility of Laem Chabang will get a single rail transfer operator and coastal quayside development with Phase 3 of the port going ahead.
Of these, much is being made of the single rail transfer operator. “We increase our capacity from 400,000 TEUs this year to 2 million next year,” Sutthinan Hatthawong, director-general of the Port Authority of Thailand, told the conference.
The real point, however, might lie not so much in the numbers but in the process of transferring cargo becoming more efficient.
This project is considerable in its scope. It involves a railway connection from Laem Chabang station with a total length of 4.3 kilometres, constructing a single rail transfer operator facility and six rail lines between 1,224-1,434 metres each. The project is worth approximately B1.93 billion (US$55.4 million) with a construction period of 18 months expected to be completed in October 2017, contractor ITD said in a recent statement.
Longer term, this looks set to increase the proportion of transport by rail from 7% to 19%, a long-term Thai goal, although in the excitement of the easing of a number of problems, no specific time line was mentioned.
Rail improvements come hot on the heels of new road links at Laem Chabang. “(We have) almost completed the construction of the 16-lane highway linking to motorway Number 7,” Termpittayapaisith said.
Both coastal terminal developments are expected to improve barge connections for the inland waterways, and in the case of Laem Chabang, from other coastal ports. This will be significant at Laem Chabang where the new CTD facility will help the port accommodate an extra 300,000 TEUs next year, according to Sutthinan.
Phase 3 development will see Laem Chabang have a draft of 18.5 metres and increase its capacity by up to 20 million TEUs. And if this wasn’t enough, a more commercial role is also being mapped out for Sattahip, a deepwater port further south of Laem Chabang.
Not that Bangkok Port is being forgotten, although the pressure on land in the city of 8 million people blocks new and extensive facilities, just as its 8.5-metre draft means larger vessels cannot call. Officials acknowledge the city port to be working at capacity at its current level of 1.5 million TEUs, but still look for ways to make it function better.
Instead of expansion, it will get an on-site one-stop service centre which will see everyone – Customs, freight forwarders, shipping agents, truckers, etc – all under one roof. “We have to think how to improve our service,” said Sutthinan.
What both ports might be getting is some help from the government about terminal charges. “We are also working with the Port Authority in other operations about how to bring the cost down,” said Termpittayapaisith. He did not elaborate.
Further thought is definitely needed according to some, although there is some variance about what exactly needs to be on the think list next.
Exporters favour more trade facilitation. “Very important,” was the view of Paiboon Ponsuwanna, advisor to the board of the Thai National Shippers’ Council. He pointed out international trade involves between 27 and 30 state agencies and can consist of 40 documents. Reforms, he added, are “still moving very slowly.”
Others point to the holes in Thailand’s plans for coverage. A lot of its exports are agricultural commodities which are moved via Penang in northern Malaysia rather than the ports in southern Thailand such as Songkhla and Pak Bara. “Is it not possible to change that situation?” asked Anthonie Versluis, head of the ports practice and managing partner, Malaysia, at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.
By Michael Mackey
Southeast Asia Correspondent | Bangkok