Plan to build Korat dry port comes closer to fruition

The government is preparing to build a dry port in Nakhon Ratchasima soon to facilitate the transport of goods from the Northeast Economic Corridor, Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri said.

The reason behind this, she added, was that an intermodal terminal in Nakhon Ratchasima (aka Korat) would strengthen the country’s domestic and international logistics network.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, she said the dry port would be linked by road and rail to the Laem Chabang deep seaport in Chonburi some 320km away.

Though she said the dry port was a key development project of the Transport Ministry, she declined to be more specific about the project’s timeframe. She only said that preliminary studies have shown that Nakhon Ratchasima was one of the four provinces suitable for the development of a dry port.

She added that the dry port would make the transport of goods to Laos, Myanmar and China easier, and will also serve as a logistics hub for the Northeastern Economic Corridor.

In addition, she said, this port is expected to open doors to the export of tapioca starch, rice and sugar, which are the main products of Korat.

Meanwhile, the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) has been assigned the job of finding a location suitable for building a dry port.

Kriengkrai Chaisiriwongsuk, PAT director-general, said the areas shortlisted for the dry port, so far, are Ban Kradone railway station in Tambon Nong Khai Nam in Muang district and Tambon Kudjik in Sung Noen district.

He said the investment pattern has not yet been concluded as the project adviser – the Rajamangala University of Technology Isan – said the investment could be either on a public-private partnership basis, a joint venture with a private concessionaire or a 100% PAT investment.