BANGKOK, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Thailand has launched a Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) project covering several of its southern provinces.
During Tuesday's roving cabinet meeting in Chumphon province, about 466 km south of Bangkok, the government approved the SEC project to be implemented in four southern provinces, namely Ranong, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Chumphon, according to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
He said the SEC project is scheduled to be carried out as a pilot project for other southern provinces to follow in the future.
The SEC project includes the development of Ranong port as a major marine gateway to Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India, the construction of a dual-track railway between the Eastern Economic Corridor on one side of the Gulf of Thailand and Chumphon on the other side, and the promotion of agricultural product processing industry in Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat, according to the deputy premier.
In addition, he said, a long coastal strip of shores between Phetchaburi and Chumphon will be declared as Thailand's "Riviera" in a bid to lure people, especially foreign visitors, to the tourist spots along the western coasts of the Gulf.
