Members of civil society in southern Thailand rallied in the compound of Prince of Songkhla University today, to demand a review of the Southern Economic Corridor and the Entertainment Complex Acts, as a mobile cabinet meeting is being held in a conference hall close by.
The protesters claim that the SEC project, similar to the Eastern Economic Corridor, will ruin the livelihoods of small-scale southern fishermen and other people in the Deep South.
They are also demanding that the government be receptive to the opinions of the people who disagree with the entertainment complex, especially the inclusion of casinos.
The SEC project is a large-scale development initiative, aimed at connecting the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman Sea through improved transportation infrastructure, primarily focused on a “land bridge” linking the provinces of Chumphon and Ranong.
The goal is to boost trade and economic growth in southern Thailand by creating a major regional logistics hub. This includes building deep-sea ports on both coasts, with a motorway and a rail system between them.
The government hopes the land bridge will serve as a gateway to East Asia for South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
