The Southern Economic Corridor ( Abrv: SEC; ) is a

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

on the upper south of Thailand. It consists of four provinces, including

Chumphon Chumphon (, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the Chumphon Province and Mueang Chumphon District. The city is about 463 kilometers (288 miles) from Bangkok. As of 2018 it had a population of around 33,600. The t ...

Ranong Ranong () is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of the Ranong Province and the Mueang Ranong District. The town covers completely the area of the ''tambon'' Khao Niwet (เขานิเวศน์). As of 2024, it had ...

Surat Thani Surat Thani (, ) is a city in Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. It lies south of Bangkok. It is the capital of Surat Thani Province. The city has a population of 132,040 (2019), and an area of . The city's ...

and

Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat (, ; from ) is a city municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') located in Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat, the capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Nakhon Si Thammarat Province is situated in the South of Thailand. It is about s ...

. The SEC is part of a larger plan to link up the

Andaman Sea The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated f ...

with the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

by land, air, and water, connecting the SEC with the

Eastern Economic Corridor The Eastern Economic Corridor ( Abrv: EEC; , , ) officially the Eastern Special Development Zone (ESDZ), is a special economic zone of three provinces in eastern Thailand. Collectively, these provinces occupy an area of , and in 2016 had an estima ...

(EEC). The project aims to promote sustainable development, increase competitiveness, and connectivity with neighboring countries, including members of

BIMSTEC The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organization of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic pro ...

History

The Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) was approved by the Thai cabinet in August 2018 as a project that aims to connect transportation between the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman, resulting in a complete transport and communication linkage. It enables increased potential to support transport volume from the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) area to directly export/import to BIMSTEC countries, as well as

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

countries.

Infrastructure

The SEC project, including the Land Bridge Project, aims to improve transportation infrastructure between the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman, while also promoting green, culture, smart, and livable cities. In addition to developing and expanding airports such as

, and

, plans are also underway to develop Ranong Port and Ao Ang Port to accommodate up to 40 million TEUs per side, improve coastal roads linking the Andaman Coast with the inner area of the South, expand the Ranong-Phang Nga highway to four lanes, and implement the double-track railway Chumphon-Ranong route, which has been designed to support Double Deck to transport containers on both sides of the port. The Land Bridge Project aims to link the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea, resulting in a more efficient transportation network for the region. The project is expected to be approved by the cabinet in June 2023, and construction is planned to begin in 2025 with an estimated completion date of 2030.

References

;Sources *

External links

Landbridge project
Special economic zones of Thailand Gulf of Thailand Andaman Sea {{Economy-stub

History

Infrastructure

See also

References

External links