Srettha welcomes DP World chief, courts him for land bridge project

DP World chairman and group chief executive officer Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem led his executives to pay a courtesy call on Srettha at Government House.

After meeting the delegation, Srettha told reporters that he had briefed Sultan Ahmed about Thailand’s overall economic situation and the investment trend in the country.

Srettha said he had informed the guests about the government’s goal to transform Thailand into a logistics hub of the region with a land bridge in the South linking the Indian and Pacific oceans.

A Government House source said the DP World delegation was briefed on the government’s policies on basic infrastructure investments and provided more information about the land bridge project.

The source said the DP World delegation was assured that the southern land bridge project would be completed during the term of the current government.

The DP World delegation was informed that a bill to set up the Southern Economic Corridor Office to be in charge of the southern land bridge project would be submitted to the Cabinet for approval within the first week of September, the source added.

Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit joined the Thai side during the meeting on Wednesday.

Suriya said he was glad to meet the executives of DP World again after meeting them during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January.

Sultan Ahmed said he felt honoured to have a chance to visit Thailand again and he was happy to be briefed on the various investment projects in Thailand.

DP World is a major player in the world of logistics. They specialise in various logistics services including cargo movement, operating port terminals, maritime services, and free trade zones.

DP World is an Emirati multinational company headquartered in Dubai, but it has a vast network. They operate in over 75 countries with more than 80 marine and inland terminals. Roughly 10% of container traffic worldwide passes through their terminals.