The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is interested in the huge land bridge project in southern Thailand, from an investment perspective, and in educational development, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said today.
He said that he had a conversation yesterday with Jin Liqun, AIIB’s chairman, during which they talked about the government’s plan to build the land bridge and to upgrade several airports across the country, adding that Jin had expressed his enthusiasm for the land bridge project and would like to play a role.
As well as investment, the prime minister said that the AIIB could provide support for the project’s feasibility study and in educational development in Thailand, adding that further discussions will be held between AIIB officials and the government.
The AIIB has been providing financial support to several infrastructure projects in the Asian region, similar to the Asian Development Bank, said the prime minister.
The Thai government has been actively promoting the land bridge project in several countries and international economic fora, hoping to attract foreign investment in the project,which, it is hoped, will to transform Thailand into a new logistics hub in the region.
AIIB is headquartered in Beijing and started operations in 2016. China is the largest shareholder, with 26.61% of the voting shares, followed by India, Russia and Germany.
