Bangkok Port is to be relocated. Srettha Thavisin, Thailand’s prime minister, has vowed to regenerate the area along the Chao Phraya River in Klong Toey district where the port is currently based. He also said the decision to relocate the port would benefit local citizens from a drop in pollution, both from ships and the many trucks heading in and out of the port.
The Ministry of Transport and the Port Authority of Thailand will now work on a relocation study.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the city’s local government, has stated before that it favours shifting the port to Laem Chabang, Thailand’s number one port.
Construction of Bangkok Port and dredging of the Chao Phraya River started in 1938. Construction was interrupted due to World War II in 1940. The first phase of the port was completed in 1947. The port, with a maximum draft of 8.2 m, grew rapidly through to the 1990s, when Laem Chabang was built as a deepwater gateway alternative.
