Thailand seeks US investment for alternative trade route to the Malacca Strait

Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin has pitched the Thailand Landbridge, a US$28bn infrastructure project that offers an alternative trade route through Southeast Asia that would bypass the Malacca Strait, to US investors.

The proposed 100 km bridge would cut across the Kra Isthmus, the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula, and connect the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean without requiring ships to sail through the narrow Malacca Strait.

Approximately 90,000 vessels pass through the trade route annually, increasing on average over 2% year-on-year, and it is expected that the number of vessels passing through will exceed the capacity of the Malacca Strait by 2030.