DEVNET International

The Thai Canal Development Declaration

February 18th 2021

We are pleased to announce the full-scale launch of the Thai Canal Development in Thailand, which will play an important role in the economic policy of the Southeast Asian region, a project we have been working on since DEVNET INTERNATIONAL was established. This announcement is made with the agreement of His Majesty King Rama X, the current King of Thailand.

DEVNET INTERNATIONAL was founded in 1989 by Dr. Roberto Savio with the cooperation of 12 countries under the ratification of the UNDP as an organization for the realization of the South-South Cooperation (SSC). In 1995 DEVNET INTERNATIONAL became an NGO recognized by the Economic and Social Council. There are 5,161 NGOs under ECOSOC worldwide. (As of September2018) DEVENET International was in Category 1 of Category 3, 2, and 1 in the earlier categorization, and is now one of the top 138 NGOs with the General Consultative Status.

On December 16, 2019, the signing ceremony of the handover of the Rome office and the inauguration ceremony of my presidency were held in Tokyo in the presence of the founder, Dr. Savio, and the former president, Dr. Arsenio Rodriguez. It is a great achievement to be able to announce the development of the Thai Canal in Thailand a little over a year later since then. Since the establishment of DEVNET, Dr. Savio has been promoting the Indo-Pacific Initiative while assuming a heavy responsibility in the UN-related organizations for many years. The fact that DEVENET NTERNATIONAL has moved its headquarters from Rome to Tokyo is significant and a step forward for the world towards the Asian era. In line with the SSC, several UN-related organizations will be moved to Thailand, and I expect that the investment of capital, human resources, and know-how by the countries participating in this project will lead to development on a global scale.

The Thai Canal Development Plan is delineated for the years 2030 and 2050, with a view to the SDGs and the Paris Agreement, respectively. The Thai Canal is 108 kilometers long, 3 kilometers wide, 40 meters deep, and capable of accommodating 300,000-ton ships. The canal and its surrounding development area is about four times the size of Singapore.

At present, the capacity of the Malacca Straits are overflowing with trade ships, which has led to an increase in waiting time and pirates. When the Thai Canal is completed, large ships will be able to cross the strait without waiting time, and tourism will also grow. The economic benefit of shortened logistics will be huge.

In order to overcome the Great Depression that followed World War I, President of USA, Roosevelt proceeded the development of the Tennessee River Basin a pillar of his New Deal policies, and I am confident that the Thai Canal Comprehensive Development Project will be a big project that will overcome the Great Depression which would come after the COVID-19 disaster subsequently.

In the ASEAN region, since the currency crisis in Thailand, a number of countries have overcome the crisis and achieved rapid economic growth. I believe that these countries, including Africa, which is also experiencing rapid growth, will be the foundation for leading the world to development in the future.

The Thai canal is on the flat, thus development is expected to be very fast despite its large size. We can develop it as if by binding 11 pools with 10 kilometers long, 3 kilometers wide, and 40 meters deep. The entrance and exit will be dug out to create a bay island. This project will be a comprehensive development that includes urban development around the canal, and we will create themed city districts. The city will be an international district with UN agencies and consulates, a Royal City Club with royalty from around the world, a district with shipbuilding, maritime, medical and tourism universities, and a business district with financial, securities, precious metals, and grain markets. The entire development site will be a large scale special bonded area with suburban agricultural land, making it a city of coexistence, co-prosperity, and self-reliance, realizing the SDGs for 2030. We would like to open our doors to a wide range of nations, companies, and individuals who can support this theme. There is a proposal, among others, to use the oil dollars owned by the kings of the oil-producing countries to fund the development of the canal. 500 units of 10 billion yen each, being assumed by them, would amount to 5 trillion yen or 48 billion USD, which could be used as part of the capital for the development. It is possible that total project cost would be 5000 trillion yen. I am convinced that if each country were to bear its own share of this cost, it would become a major feature of the After COVID-19.

I would like to build a new world of coexistence, co-prosperity and self-reliance (CCI), beyond the differences in economic systems such as capitalism and socialism, and conflict-free. I believe that this is the most important thing and it will become the mainstream of the world.

DEVNET INTERNATIONAL Chair, CEO Fumiyasu Akegawa