Announcement of Twelve Million Five Hundred Thousand US Dollars Loan for Improvement of Port of Bangkok, Thailand on July 29, 1970

({ _JNTFRNATIONAL BANK FOR • RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXr~cUTIVE 3-6360 !.1 Bank Press Release No. 70/53 Subject: $12 .5 million loan for impro"e- July 29, 1970 ment of Port of Bangkok, Thailand. A port expansion a,µd improvement./ p_rogram which is needed to handle Thailand cs .~ncreasing international trade will be carried out with the helr of a World Bank loan of $12.5 million announced today. Under the program, ;tdditional de~p~water I and lighterage berths will be, constructed at tfie port of Bangkcfk, and other steps will be· taken to enable the r~kpacity· of the por.t to be utilized more fully. Bangkok is by far.the largest<;and busie~t of Thailand's 22 ports. It handles 95 per cent of the country's imports and 80 per cent of its exports -- a total of • more than 6 million tons of cargo annually. The facilities of the port stretch along the Chao Phraya River from its mouth at the Gulf of Thailand to a point about 30 miles upstream. The main facilities for ocean-going ships are the Klong Toi wharves, which at present provide 10 deep-water berths with A total length of about one mile. The rapid growth of traffic betw~en 1965 and 1967 resulted in congestion which kept ocean-going ships waiting for long periods outside the port. In 1967, surcharges were placed on freight rates by the shipping lines serving the port which for the six months they were in force cost the Thai economy an ((i·dd:lJtional ,:, (';'''cc:,, ',\ \ $4 million in f9reign exchange. Through improving the productivity of labor antl equipment, investments in mechanization and other measures, congestion was alleviated and the surcharges gradually removed. Increasing traffic is nc~ • causing congestion to recur, and unless a major·expansion of the port's berth- ing capacity is undertaken, costly delays may occur and Thailand's development qlowed down. /more  Bank P.R. No..- 70/53 -- Thailand-Port - 2 - T!le E!"::uk' s Ivan is being made to the Port Authority of Thailand,, Authority operate's the wharves at Klong Toi and, among its other respon- The • sibilities, carries out the dredging nee~ed- to enable ocean-going ships to 0 cr0ss through the sand bar at the mo,uth of the Chao Phraya. With the help of the -Bank I s loan, ,: and as part of its five~:year devel9pment program, the \ ~uthority will construct four deep-water berths at Klong Toi, along with two // shallower berths for"' lighters, and two additional .transit sheds for cargo •. It will als'o retain consul tan ts to advise on modern dredging ·techniques and imp:..·oved cargo handling methods. · · The estimated cost of the project is equivalent to $21 million~. The Bank's loa,n of $12.5 million is calculated to cover the foreign exchange • requirements. The loan is for a term of 20 years, carries interest of 7 per cei.lt a year, and is guaranteed by the Kingdom of Thailand. Concurrently with the construction program'at Klong Toi, other steps will Le taken to improve the operations of the port. Access to the port will be improved by widening the main road leading to the port and by construction of a second road. The new berths and other works are expected,to be completed by the end of 1973. - 0 - •