Thailand's 'land bridge' ambitions face fresh roadblocks

BANGKOK -- As Thailand inches forward on its decades-old vision for a logistics corridor connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans, local opposition and political instability threaten the plans.

The proposed 90-kilometer highway-and-rail link would cut across the Malay Peninsula, connecting a planned port facing the Indian Ocean in Ranong province with another planned port, in Chumphon province, along the Gulf of Thailand and with a lane to the Pacific Ocean. A special economic zone will be established nearby.