Thailand’s government is preparing to abandon its trillion-baht Landbridge megaproject after a new economic review found the plan would lose money and carry significant environmental risks, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said at a briefing Friday. In its place, officials plan to fast-track smaller upgrades to Ranong Port and a new rail link connecting Thailand’s Andaman coast to the existing national rail network.
The Landbridge was designed to link the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea through a roughly 100-kilometer corridor of highways, railways, and two deep-sea ports, giving cargo ships an alternative to the crowded Strait of Malacca. The project had been estimated to cost around one trillion baht, or nearly $30 billion.
A government committee reviewed the plan’s updated financial projections and concluded it would run at a loss overall, a reversal from earlier studies that had forecast substantial economic gains. The committee also flagged environmental concerns tied to the project’s footprint across Ranong and Chumphon provinces on Thailand’s southern peninsula. Ekniti said the recommendation will now go to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and the full cabinet for a final decision.
The finance minister added that the government hasn’t incurred any losses on the project so far, since no land had been purchased and no construction had begun.
The Landbridge concept dates back more than two decades and has been revived and shelved by successive Thai governments. It resurfaced again earlier this year as instability near the Strait of Hormuz drew fresh attention to global shipping vulnerabilities. In April, Deputy Prime Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the government intended to speed up the project’s development.
That momentum shifted after business groups pushed back. During an economic mission to Chengdu on July 18, Anutin told reporters that private-sector leaders, including representatives from the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Chamber of Commerce, and the Thai Bankers’ Association, had advised the government that the full Landbridge didn’t need to move forward immediately. Anutin said Thailand would instead prioritize completing existing gaps in its rail, road, and port networks first, arguing that faster, lower-cost fixes could improve freight logistics and competitiveness without waiting years for a mega-project to materialize.
The Landbridge itself isn’t being formally declared dead. Anutin has said the project remains part of the government’s broader policy direction and will continue to be studied even as the immediate focus shifts elsewhere. That distinction, continued study without near-term construction, is why officials are framing the shift as a scaling back rather than an outright cancellation.
The alternative plan centers on Ranong Port, on Thailand’s Andaman coast, which officials want to expand and connect to the country’s main rail grid. Backers argue that upgrading existing infrastructure could deliver faster freight and trade benefits at a fraction of the Landbridge’s cost, while sidestepping the larger project’s financial and environmental red flags.
The Landbridge had also drawn scrutiny from residents in Ranong and Chumphon, where the ports and connecting infrastructure were planned. Environmental and health impact assessments for the project had been conducted in phases, and some community members had raised concerns about the impact on local fishing grounds and coastal ecosystems.
For now, the process moves to Anutin and the cabinet, who will decide whether to formally accept the committee’s recommendation. If approved, the immediate priority becomes the Ranong Port expansion and rail connection, while the larger cross-peninsula corridor stays on the shelf, at least for the foreseeable future, as a longer-term option rather than an active construction plan.
