Ports in Thailand

Major ports in Thailand

Thailand has a coastline of 3219 km with over 4,000 km of waterways. Major ports of Thailand :

• Bangkok
• Laem Chabang
• Map Ta Phut
• Rayong
• Phuket
• Songkhla
• Sattahip
• Si Racha

The development and management of all major ports in Thailand depend on the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT).

Port Authority of Thailand (PAT)

The Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) is a public company under the general supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The main functions of PAT are:

• The provision of services and facilities for ships and goods.
• The conduct of dredging and maintenance of canals and ponds.
• Supervise handling, movement, storage, and delivery of goods
• Co-operation and coordination with other government agencies and international ports.
• The development of the organization to respond to economic changes

Current commercial ports

Klong Toey or Bangkok Port is the largest port in Thailand and can handle 1.5 million containers per year. The depth of the Chao Phraya River basin is 8.5 meters.

Regional ports

Laem Chabang can handle about 6.9 million containers / year and the depth of the port is 12 meters. At present, four terminals are managed by private companies. Laem Chabang Port is Tungsukhla Sub-District, District Sriracha and Banglamung sub-district of the province of Chon Buri. The port covers an area of approximately 1026 hectares.

Below, the list of regional ports :

• Chiang Saen Port, located along the Mekong River in Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai Province, covers an area of about 1.2 hectares facing the Mekong River, opposite to the Democratic Republic of Laos and off the route 1290 (Rimkong road) connecting Chiang Saen and Chiang Khong districts. The port can handle 120,000 tonnes per year.
• Chiang Khong Port, located in Chiang Khong Sub-District, Chiang Rai Province. The port aims to improve the efficiency of import-export services and promote border trade between the Republic of China, the Democratic Republic of Laos, Burma and Thailand. The port can handle 15,000 tons per year.
• Ranong Port, located on the east bank of the river Kra Buri, Pak Num Sub-District, Muang District, Ranong Province, covers an area of approximately 51 hectares. Container terminal with a depth of 30 meters and a length of 150 meters is able to accommodate 12,000 containers per cargo ship at a time.

New deep water: Dawei

Thailand and Burma signed an agreement to develop the Dawei economic zone in 2008, followed by another agreement in 2012.
On January 30, 2015, Japan agreed to participate. It was revealed that they will participate in equal partnership to Thailand and Burma in cooperation for the development of the Dawei economic zone area and intend to provide technical and financial support for the project.

Port expansion in Thailand

Among the benefits of the development of Dawei deep sea port are:

• Development of a broad base for raw commerce and primary operations
• Increased distribution of exports
• Reduced transportation costs due to less dependence of the passage through the Strait of Mallacca
• Industry Diversification
• Regional Economic Expansion: increased demand and an optimized supply chain.
• The expansion of the logistics network via new trade routes

The Port Authority of Thailand, as the lead agency, has implemented a port expansion plan by developing the second pool and inviting private sector participation on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT).

PAT, which currently manages five ports in Bangkok and its provinces, signed a contract with consultants to study the expansion of the port of Laem Chabang in Chon Buri. The study aims to put the port to international standards, but also to ecological standards. Through modern technology and the latest innovations, the port should offer faster services, reducing the waiting time for each vessel.

Laem Chabang has experienced two phases of development so far and is in the third phase of construction now. The third phase would raise the port’s capacity to a maximum of 18 million containers.

Completion is expected in 2019 and will respond to the rapid growth of international maritime commerce in Thailand. The expansion aims to transform Laem Chabang as the main port in Mekong region, and ultimately compete with Singapore.

Bangkok Port

At present, the Bangkok port handles 54% of the total exports and imports of Thailand. The expansion project includes a new dock two kilometers long, 900 m wide, and 15 m deep to accommodate large vessels directly. It also plans to build twin rail tracks that link the northeast of the country directly to the port.

Through these major works, the Thai government is seeking to reduce logistical costs in order to increase global competitiveness.

Inland waterways

 The Department of the Navy Department of Transportation

The Department of the Navy Department of Transportation provides development of inland logistics, which includes the construction of a second cargo terminal at Ayudhya. The goal is to reduce costs and access to the province.