Thailand Revives ‘Landbridge’ Concept for Kra Isthmus

Although the idea of building a “Kra Canal” connecting the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, dramatically shortening the passage to the Far East by avoiding the Malacca Strait, has been essentially dropped from consideration, the current Thai government has renewed the variation in which two new ports on either side would be constructed and connected by rail and road transport—a “landbridge.” The plan, according to estimates, will cost $31 billion to implement. The revival is sparked by the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, which, Reuters notes, “underscored the vulnerability of global shipping chokepoints, including the nearby Malacca Strait.”