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    The idea of building a canal through the Kra Isthmus came up hundreds of years ago. Current estimates put building costs at about US$28 billion (S$37 billion) canal would cut through the narrowest neck of south Thailand, connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea. If the canal materialises, Singapore will certainly be impacted as ships will be able to bypass Singapore's port and the Straits of Malacca.

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    The idea of building a canal through the Kra Isthmus came up hundreds of years ago. Current estimates put building costs at about US$28 billion (S$37 billion) canal would cut through the narrowest neck of south Thailand, connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea. If the canal materialises, Singapore will certainly be impacted as ships will be able to bypass Singapore's port and the Straits of Malacca.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    67 views4 pages

    China Thaicanal

    Uploaded by

    api-279661045
    The idea of building a canal through the Kra Isthmus came up hundreds of years ago. Current estimates put building costs at about US$28 billion (S$37 billion) canal would cut through the narrowest neck of south Thailand, connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea. If the canal materialises, Singapore will certainly be impacted as ships will be able to bypass Singapore's port and the Straits of Malacca.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 4

    ChinaThaiCanal

    WilltheKraCanaleverbebuilt,orisitjustapipedream?
    TheideaofbuildingacanalthroughtheKraIsthmuscameuphundredsof
    yearsago,andithasbeenresurrectedmanytimessince.
    Chinesemediareportedthisweekthattwoorganisationsthe
    ChinaThailandKraInfrastructureInvestmentandDevelopment,andAsia
    UnionGrouphadsignedamemorandumofunderstandingtoconstruct
    thecanal,buttheChinesegovernmentquicklysaiditwasnotinvolvedin
    theproject.
    Ifthecanalmaterialises,Singaporewillcertainlybeimpactedasshipswill
    beabletobypassSingapore'sportandtheStraitsofMalacca.
    Hereismoreabouttheelusivecanal:
    1.WhatistheKraCanal?
    TheKraCanalwouldcutthroughThailand'sKraIsthmus,thenarrowest
    neckofSouthThailand,connectingtheGulfofThailandwiththeAndaman
    Sea.Approximately102kmlong,itcouldtakeeightto10yearstobuild.
    CurrentestimatesputbuildingcostsataboutUS$28billion(S$37billion).
    SkippingSingaporeandPeninsulaMalaysia,
    shipscouldcutupto72hours
    ofsailingtimeor1,200kmindistance.
    Theywillalsobeabletoavoidthe

    congestedStraitsofMalacca,whichhasseenincreasedpirateactivityin
    recentyears.

    2.Aprojectwith400yearsofhistory
    TheideawasfirstmootedbySiameseKingNaraiasfarbackas1677.
    Everysooftentheidearesurfaces,forexampleinthe1870s,afterthe
    SuezCanaldemonstratedthatamanmadecanalwasviable.The1946
    AngloThaitreatyforbadetheSiamesegovernmentfrombuildingsucha
    canalwithoutprioragreementoftheBritishgovernment.TheBritish
    deemedthecanalathreattothedominanceofSingaporethenaBritish
    colonyasaregionalshippinghub.
    Theideawasrevivedinthe1950sandthe1970s,andthethreadwas
    pickedupinthe1980sbytheJapanese.Itmadeanappearanceevery
    decadeorso,andoftenwhenanewadministrationcomesintopowerin
    Thailand.AsChina'seconomyboomed,theThaishaveturnedtothe
    Chinesetolendsupporttheproject.
    Proponentsoftheprojectcontinuetopushforit.Lastyear,businessman
    PakdeeTanapura,amemberofaKraCanalCommittee,toldTheStraits
    TimesthatthecanalcouldbepartofChina'sMaritimeSilkRoute,whichis
    aimedatimprovingconnectivityandtradethroughtheSouthChinaSea.

    3.ImpactonSingapore
    Thewaterwayislikelytoreducethenumberofshipstravellingthrough
    Singapore.Themaritimeindustrycontributedabout7percentto
    Singapore'sGDPin2014.Butsomeexpertssaytheimpactmaybelimited.
    DrLiZhenfufromDalianMaritimeUniversitysaid:"Distanceisimportant
    butshipshavetoconsiderservicesandfacilitiesaswell.Thefoundation
    andreputationthatSingapore'sporthasbuiltupcannotbereplicated
    immediately."
    4.ImpactforThailandandChina
    Thailand'seconomycoulddowithaboostfromsuchaproject,and
    potentialbenefitsincludeportfees,tolls,foreigninvestmentand
    infrastructuredevelopmentsaroundtheregion.ForChina,theshorterroute
    wouldmeantimeandcostsavingswhenimportingoilfromAfricaandthe
    MiddleEast.ItcouldgiveaboosttoChina'sportsinShanghai,HongKong
    andShenzhen.

    5.Whyitmayneverhappen
    Analystssaythatforthecostofbuildingthecanal,thesavingsofaround
    72hoursforshipsisnotsignificantenough.ThePanamaCanalcutsabout
    12,000kmoffajourneybybypassingSouthAmerica,whiletheSueztook
    10,000kmoffatripbetweenEuropeandSouthAsia.Therearealso
    environmentalconsequencesandsecurityconsiderationsfortheKra
    Canal.ManyintheThaiestablishmentwouldnotbehappywithacanal
    thatappearstoseparatethecountry'sfoursouthernmostprovincesfrom
    therestofthecountry.TheprovinceshavehistoricallyresistedBangkok's
    ruleandaretornbyseparatistinsurgency.Iftheseobstacleswere
    overcome,questionssuchaswhattodowiththetonnesofsoilexcavated
    andwheretorelocatemillionsofpeoplewholivealongtheproposedsite
    stillhavetoanswered.

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