THAILAND plans to hold an international competitive bidding for a one trillion baht (S$38 billion) project that seeks to significantly cut shipping times between the Indian and Pacific oceans by bypassing the Malacca Strait.

A 50-year concession will be granted to the winning consortium that may comprise shippers, logistics operators, port managers, property developers and industrial investors, Thailand’s Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit told Japanese investors in Tokyo on Monday (Dec 18).

The so-called Landbridge project will be divided into four phases between 2025 and 2040, and may achieve break-even in 24 years, he said.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has pitched the mega project to prospective investors from the US, China and the Middle East. The plan, which can transform Thailand into a major transit hub for international trade, involves linking two new seaports on either side of the country’s southern peninsula by highway and rail networks.

Once completed, the project will help vessels avoid the Malacca Strait, cut travel time by an average of four days and lower shipping costs by 15 per cent.

The government also plans to enact a new law to facilitate the project’s development as well as its adjacent areas, said Suriya.

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Srettha on Monday also reiterated that the project will help to create 280,000 jobs and propel Thailand’s annual economic growth rate to 5.5 per cent when it is fully implemented. South-east Asia’s second-largest economy grew 2.6 per cent last year, and is forecast to expand 2.5 to 3 per cent in 2023. BLOOMBERG