The newly appointed chief of the Marine Department says he plans to expand the use of water transport across the country.
Chula Sukmanop, appointed head of the Marine Department by the junta on Monday, said yesterday he wanted to improve inland waterway infrastructure to attract business people into providing more passenger and freight services.
He said transport by water, and passenger numbers are expected to increase by 15-16% once ports and waterways are improved over the next three to four years.
Water as a mode of public transport and for transporting goods accounts for about 11-12% of total traffic.
Mr Chula said the department plans to improve leading ports on the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand including Satun’s Pak Bara Port, Songkhla 2 Port, and ports along the Chao Phraya and Pasak rivers.
He said environmental and health impact assessments will be carried out before work can begin at Pak Bara Port and Songkhla 2 Port.
Other improvements include making waterways deeper and wide enough to improve navigation and allow more vessels with greater capacity to use them in order to handle an increasing amount of shipments.
“Our goal is to optimise the efficiency of water transport,” Mr Chula said, adding that its potential has not been fully developed.
He said business operators mostly in agriculture could take advantage of waterways that are easier to navigate.
Waterways could also be an alternative means of transportation for commuters, he said, helping reduce dependence on cars in the capital.
Mr Chula said the department plans to review transport charges and the quality of port services operated by private enterprises to see whether rates are reasonable.
He said the department would call on private port operators to discuss ways to optimise transport of cargo on inland waterways.
Mr Chula said the department has come up with a working plan to link existing waterways in the capital with the Laem Chabang deep-sea port in order to help save on time and operating costs.
The department is now considering the possibility of developing routes starting from the Chao Phraya River to Chon Buri's Laem Chabang deep-sea port via Samut Prakan’s Pak Nam and Chon Buri’s Ko Si Chang.
There is also room to increase and improve passenger transport in Bangkok, Mr Chula said.
The department will study existing routes in the capital to see whether they need to tweaked to provide easier transit to other forms of public transport, Mr Chula added.