PUSH FOR PRIVATE INITIATIVE IN INLAND WATER TRANSPORT

       The Transport Ministry will support private-sector efforts to boost the country's inland water-transport capacity as a means of lowering logistics costs.
       Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit said the ministry was working with the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT), the Water Transport Department and the shipping industry to formulate specific support measures.
       Speaking after visiting the CP Group's port and inland container depot (ICD) operation in Ayutthaya province, Kuakul said the volume of goods transported via inland waterways now accounted for only 5 per cent of the country's total cargo.
       Earlier, the minister held a meeting of senior officials to promote inland water transport along the Chao Phya River, the Kingdom's longest, running from the North to the Central Plain.
       Compared with road transport, inland water transport has long-term potential to help lower logistics costs in Thailand, which are relatively expensive due to high dependence on land transport.
       Besides inland water transport, the government also wants to promote greater use of railways, which is more cost-effective than road transport.
       Kuakul said the government would have to play the leading role in infrastructure development for inland water transport, in order to boost efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
       There must also be more linkages between road-, water- and rail-transport facilities.
       At present, only two of the country's five major rivers are partly used for water transport: the Chao Phya and the Pasak.
       Acting PAT governor Sunida Skulratana said her agency and the CP Group's Ayutthaya port had been cooperating to provide a container-transport service from Klong Toei and Laem Chabang ports to destinations in the northern, northeastern and central regions.
       "Inland water transport is cheaper for many types of cargo, because we can handle larger quantities. Fuel-efficiency is also better," said Sunida.
       Meanwhile, the CP Group, a diversified conglomerate, has spent Bt1 billion to develop its Ayutthaya port and related ICD facility, located on 313 rai of land, so that it can handle up to 400,000 containers a year.
       The port can handle up to five barges at a time, each one capable of carrying 60 containers.