SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

State of the Basin Report - 2003Of the four LMB member countries, only Thailand does not make significant use of the river and itsassociated waterways for domestic transport. This may be attributed to the high density of the networkof all-season roads linking all major and minor population centres along the river in Thailand. Thepresence of flexible, convenient and relatively fast road transport alternatives throughout the basinarea in Thailand has meant that IWT is now used only where such alternatives are unavailable, such asfor cross-river (and cross-border) traffic at locations not yet connected by a road bridge. Data collectedfrom Thai customs and immigration offices in the LMB show that road vehicles crossing the FriendshipBridge between Nong Khai (Thailand) and Tarnaleng (Lao PDR) now account for 88 percent of allpassenger traffic, and 55 percent of all cargo traffic, between Thailand and the PDR. The share of roadtransport in this cross-border traffic will inevitably increase as soon as the planned bridge connectingMukdahan with Savannakhet is available for service in about 2005.Cargo traffic between Simao (Yunnan Province of China) and the Thai ports of Chiang Saen andChiang Khong has recently been growing at a very rapid rate (40 percent per year), but the tonnagescarried still represent a very small share of the total volume of trade between Yunnan Province andThailand. The bulk of this traffic is distributed by shipping services through Chinese coastal portsand from there by rail and road to Kunming. Thus, there is a major opportunity for water transportto use its cost advantage to increase its share substantially.Remote communities in Lao PDR depend onwater transport232