- Joined
- Jul 26, 2008
- Messages
- 2,299
- Points
- 48
Kra canal have been discuss for more than 50 year. And will never take off because construction cost and land acquisition very costly. Estimate for construction cost only will be US$30b and take 10~15 year and calculate the interest for 10 year total cost will balloon to US$50b. Toll for the ship will not able to cover the cost.
The only way is built refinery in Thailand, off load raw oil in West of the Kra and use pipe to transfer to East Kra and process it and load onto ship . Then Jurong Island will be useless.
Technology and the capacity of countries to afford such a project have now made it quite viable. Also, the Chinese never take a short term view on anything. They think 50-100 years. I believe the canal will eventually be built and far quicker than most people expect. It will have an economic and strategic dimension. Cutting the canal means that symbolically the whole of mainland Southeast Asia - Laos, Vietnam, Burma & Thailand - comes far more easily under the Chinese sphere of influence.
Avoiding use of the Straits Of Malacca by most shipping would also mean the marginalisation of the largest Southeast Asian state - Indonesia - which would increasingly become the main foil to greater Chinese inroads into the region.
I would strongly urge China and Thailand to quickly tie-up an agreement to move ahead with cutting the canal at the Kra Isthmus.