Bypassing the Malacca Strait

Since the 1970s, various plans have been proposed to by-pass the Malacca and Singapore straits by cutting a canal or building oil pipelines through the relatively narrow neck of Thai or Malaysian land that separates the northern entrance of the busy waterway from the South China Sea.

None of these projects has advanced beyond the planning stage. Why? Because the distance and time saved did not justify the cost and problems involved. Will the latest plan for three parallel pipelines to carry oil 320-kilometers across northern Malaysia fare any better? The venture was confirmed by several Malaysian, Indonesian and Saudi Arabian companies on Monday (28 May), in the presence of the Malaysian prime minister and the Indonesian president.

JakartaPost