History

The development of modern port facilities for the promotion of international trade dates back to

1932 when Vice Admiral Phraya Rajawangsan, the Minister of Defence, proposed to dredge the sandbar at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River and improve the existing ports to enable large sea-going ships to transport goods without transshipment at Si Chang Island.

In 1934, at the request of the Thai government, the League of Nations sent three experts to investigate economic conditions and trade in Bangkok. These experts proposed that the sandbar at the river mouth be dredged and a modern port be built at Klong Toey.

The government thus appointed a Port Committee chaired by Colonel Phra Boriphan Yuthakit, Minister of Economic Development, to develop a plan to carry out the dredging and to build the port.

In 1936, Professor Dr. A. Agatz from Germany was chosen as the architect and overseer of the port construction which was undertaken by Christiani and Nielsen (Thai) Co., Ltd. who won the contract at the cost of 20 million Baht.

Construction began in 1938. To oversee the project, the government established the Bangkok Port Office headed by Luang Prasert Vitherath with Mr. Robert Schwager as consultant engineer. The construction was interrupted during the Second World War and completed only after the war ended.

In 1947, the cabinet set up a committee for planning and overseeing the activities of Bangkok Port Office. The Minister of Communications became the chairman of the committee and Luang Yuktha Seveevivat was the Director of the Office. Port facilities at that time included a 1,500 metre-long-berth, four single-storeyed transit sheds, one three-storeyed warehouse, one three-storeyed administration building, railway lines, roads and canals. A year later, one more transit shed was added.

In 1951, the government obtained a loan from the World Bank for dredging the sandbar, deepening the river course to the Bangkok Port, and purchasing loading/unloading equipment.

Also in that year, under the Port Authority of Thailand Act 1951, the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) was established as an autonomous body to take over the running of the Bangkok Port. The first Board of Port commissioners comprised six members included Admiral Sindhu Kamolnavin (RTN) as Chairman and Mr. Yin Samanont as Member and Director.

The PAT has proved highly efficient and has played a significant role in the development of Thailand’s trade and economic progress. The PAT has operated a second commercial port at Sattahip since 1979 according to the country’s economic growth.

Towards the Laem Chabang Project

The idea that Thailand should have another large port was first floated in 1948 when the Pibulsongkhram government concluded that the Bangkok Port could no longer satisfy the needs of long-term economic development. Initially, it was planned to build a commercial port in Sriracha, but this project was later abandoned.

In 1961, the government commissioned NEDECO (Netherlands Engineering Consultants) to conduct a feasibility study on developing a new port in Sriracha. However, NEDECO recommended that the new port be constructed at Laem Chabang because the site was well sheltered, could easily be dredged, and had a spacious hinterland for the construction of port facilities. Still, the project was not implemented.

Between 1969 and 1996, the US constructed port facilities at Sattaship for military use. In 1972, these facilities were transferred to the Thai government.

In 1973, Louis Berger Co., Ltd. reported to the Ministry of Communications that the government should invest in expansion of the Sattahip Port rather than build a new deep-sea port at Laem Chabang.

However, the Ministry of Communications considered that a new port was needed at Laem Chabang for reasons of safety, working efficiency and long-term expansion. On October 9, 1973 the cabinet approved this recommendation. Unfortunately, economic recession prevented the government from finding the funds to start construction. To relieve congestion at Bangkok Port, the government decided to develop Sattahip for the time being, and made preparations for future development at Laem Chabang.

In 1978, the government began to expropriate the land in the districts of Sriracha and Banglamung for the construction of the Laem Chabang Port. The total amount was 1,014.5 hectares, of which 640 belonged to private persons and the remainder to the government.

On March 20, 1979 the cabinet approved a resolution to place the administration of the Sattahip Port under the control of the PAT in the same way as the Bangkok Port. The PAT Board was assigned to set overall policy, to oversee operations and to provide technical assistance. The Sattahip Commercial Port began operation on December 12, 1979.

On several occasions in the following years, the cabinet discussed the feasibility of the Laem Chabang Port and an associated industrial estate development project nearby. On February 23, 1982 the cabinet resolved to accelerate the development of Laem Chabang as a Port for containerised, general and agricultural goods and as an infrastructure to encourage the production of light consumer goods which would not cause environmental problems. It planned that the port should begin operation between 1987 and 1990, and set up a sub-committee under the Eastern Seaboard Development. Committee to oversee the port development. The Minister of Communications was appointed chairman, responsible for the development of deep-sea port facilities in the Eastern Seaboard with special emphasis on Laem Chabang.

On March 29, 1983 the government passed a resolution to allow the Ministry of Communications to negotiate for a loan from Japan to design and carry out the construction of the Laem Chabang project. The Ministry of Finance was assigned to source the remaining funds from the revenue of the PAT and from the regular government budget.

In 1984, the PAT commissioned the PAAS Consortium to carry out the detailed engineering design which was completed in April 1986.

In 1987 the PAAS Consortium was also appointed to undertake the supervision work, while the construction contract was awarded to a consortium of Italian-Thai, Daiho, Daito Kogyo and Dredging International. The construction contract was signed on October2, 1987 and the work, which was expected to extend over 48 months, began in December of the same year.

On November 15, 1987 with the Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda presiding, PAT laid the foundation stone for the Laem Chabang Port.

In 1989, the cabinet passed a resolution to bring the Laem Chabang Port within the scope of the Port Authority of Thailand Act 1951 and to make PAT the administrative authority. It also announced that private companies could participate in the operation of port terminals.

It is now nearly four decades since the Bangkok Port, Thailand’s first modern port, started to play a role in the economic and social development of Thailand. It has also been nearly four decades since efforts began to develop a modern deep-sea port of international standard to sustain economic growth into the future. By placing such great emphasis on the development of sea-port facilities, Thailand has successfully positioned itself as an economically strategic location of worldwide significance.

* in million metric tons