Bangkok Port () (BKP), popularly known as Khlong Toei Port (), is an international

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

on the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

Khlong Toei District Khlong Toei (also Klong Toey, , ) is a districts of Bangkok, district in central Bangkok, long known for its slum. It is bordered by the Chao Phraya River and contains major port facilities. It is also the site of a major market, the Khlong Toei M ...

of the Thai capital city,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. It is operated by the

Port Authority of Thailand The Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) (, ) is a government agency of Thailand, responsible for the regulation and governance of the ports of Thailand, primarily the ports of Laem Chabang and Bangkok Port, the country's two largest. PAT operates Th ...

. Until recently, Bangkok Port was one of the world's 100 busiest container ports. The port also offers a conventional

quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

for loading and unloading cargo. The maximal ship length is and the draft for the container ships.

History

After the Siamese revolution in 1932, instead of transferring cargo from ship to ship moored in the harbour bays of Ko Sichang and Bangkok, the government wanted to build a port. In 1934 they contacted the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland to advise on the construction of a modern harbour. There were two proposals for the location, the

and Samut Prakan. Decision was made for the Khlong Toei District. A royal decree expropriated land for the construction of a port in Bangkok on 6 August 1935. Initially, this included almost all of the

Yan Nawa District Yan Nawa or Yannawa (, ) is one of the Districts of Bangkok, 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. The district is bounded by (clockwise from west to northeast) Rat Burana (across Chao Phraya River), Bang Kho Laem, Sathon, and Khlong Toei ...

and was part of Bang Kho Laem District. Construction of the port and dredging of the Chao Phraya River started in 1938. Construction was interrupted due to World War II in 1940. At the end of the war, in 1945 the pier was only 1,500 m (4,920 ft) long and work on the construction of the port resumed with a loan from the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. The first phase of the port was completed in 1947 and opened for the first time. Expanding of the port started, with also dredging of the navigator channels from the mouth of the Chao Phraya River in

Samut Prakan Province Samut Prakan province (, , , sometimes rendered Samutprakan or Samutprakarn) is one of the central Provinces of Thailand, provinces of Thailand, established on 9 May 1946 by the ''Act Establishing Changwat Samut Prakan, Changwat Nonthaburi, Cha ...

to the Bangkok Port, a total distance of 66 km (41 mi).

1947–1991

The Bangkok Port area is on the east side of the Chao Phraya River in Khlong Toei District occupying over 900 acres (3.6 km²). It was Thailand's main international port, primarily a cargo port, though its inland location limits access to ships of 12,000 deadweight tonnes or less and not longer than 172 m (564 ft). The port boomed during the 1950s. To meet growing traffic, Kloeng Toey Port saw massive expansion in the early 1980s. It handled 98 percent of Thailand's imports, 60 percent of outgoing goods, and 40 percent of coastal traffic. Despite attempts to improve port infrastructure, the port remained inadequate.

1991–present

Thus the Port of Laem Chabang was built, reducing Bangkok Port's tonnage. Although the port's flow of imports has gone down by 40 percent, post-1995 export cargo volume has remained at a satisfactory level. The port handled of cargo in the first eight months of the 2010 fiscal year, about 22 percent the total of the country's international ports. Bangkok Port had 3,067 vessel calls in FY2016. Cargo tonnage was 21 million. Cargo volume totalled 1.5 million TEUs. Bangkok Port was one of the world's busiest container ports, but is no longer on the Lloyd's list "One Hundred Container Ports 2019".

Specifications of Bangkok Port

References

External links

* {{coord, 13, 42, 13.45, N, 100, 34, 31.61, E, type:landmark, display=title Ports and harbours of Thailand Ports and harbors of the Pacific Ocean Water transport in Bangkok Buildings and structures on the Chao Phraya River