Kra: Fill & Download for Free

Kragle.They pulled a “V’ger” and formed a word by the portions of the main object that were left uncovered. The product is Krazy Glue which became KrA-GL-E.

In Royal grounds in the UK the only flags permitted are either the Royal Standard or the Union Flag (Union Jack).My family visited the Tower of London in 1996. There was a large group of foreign tourists being led by a person carrying a pole with a triangle of solid material attached so that she could be easily found by stragglers in the group.One of the guards came over to her and explained that no flags other than the Royal Standard or the Union [Jack] flag was permitted to be carried anywhere at the site. That the “flag” was just a solid colored triangle only for follow-the-leader purposes did not matter.

The idea of the Kra Isthmus canal has been around for centuries. It was first considered in 1677 as a way to get from the port that served Ayutthaya (the then capital of Thailand) to what is now Myanmar. The idea resurfaced in 1793 and then again in 1863 and then many times in the 20th and 21th Century. 1863 was one of the more serious attempts and was backed by the French. The French were particularly keen on the idea as it would have by passed Singapore but the British and the Dutch opposed it, as they controlled the Straits of Malacca.Despite the name, the Kra Isthmus Canal proposal is not one proposal but several proposals.As recent as 1972, a major and comprehensive feasibility study by Tippetts-Abbett-McCarthy-Stratton (TAMS) of the US considered nine possible routes (see above). TAMS recommended Route 5A: a 102-km long one-way canal from Satun on the west coast to Songkhla on the east. However, the latest 2014 and 2016 proposals decided against Route 5A. The commission re-looking at the project in 2014 recommended Route 9A (120km). The professionals in 2016 considered a variant of Route 9A.Why so many proposals? This is because all of the routes face geo-technical, financial, economic, political, environmental and other challenges which do not have simple black and white answers.Geo-technicalThe Kha Isthmus is where two mountain ranges meet. The chain which starts from Tibet goes through the Kra Isthmus into Malaysia. This range includes the Tenasserim Hills as well as the Phuket Range. As can be seen in the map below, all direct east-west routes require digging out 1800m high mountains composed of very hard granite. The cost of building a 1km canal through a mountain that has a height of 1800m is more than 100 times the cost of building the same stretch on level ground. Thus no proposal can have a straight canal, all must bend to avoid the high peaks.If we use route 9A, the distance will be 120km (the Kra Isthmus at its shortest point is only 44km across - the canal is longer because the cost of going straight is astronomical) but the highest point is now expected to be only around 80m. However, it will require the canal to go through deep jungle and water logged marsh lands. The former is a nightmare for equipment due to the heavy rooting systems that can tangle up the equipment. The latter is a nightmare as the walls of the canal will have to heavily reinforced to prevent it collapsing due to soil erosion.Due to the water differential between the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, as well as the water table on the Isthmus itself, the canal will require locks. This in turn will require stronger coffer dams and other supporting structure (weak soil conditions will then be particularly challenging).The Suez canal (192km) goes through a flat desert. It took 10 years (4 years longer than expected). Even with all the modern advances, the construction of the Kra Isthmus could take 7 to 8 years.FinancialThe cost of a one lane canal (i.e. only allowing ships to go only one way) was estimated to be around $30 billion in 2016. However, to maximize the value of the canal, oil storage, gas storage, blending facilities, petrochemical facilities as well as container port handling facilities (particularly for transshipment) will have to be built. This could easily cost a further $30 billion in 2016 money terms.The Thai Government’s 2019 budget was around Baht 3 trillion ($95 billion). This budget required the Government to run a deficit equal to 2.5% of Thai GDP. This in turn increased Public Debt to $209 billion or 42% of GDP. If the Thai Government were to finance the Kra Isthmus and supporting infrastructure by itself, it would have to increase its spending by 12% for 8 years (allowing for inflation and interest). Given Kra Isthmus’ expenditure plus future projected deficits, public debt is likely to raise Public Debt to 60% or more of GDP.EconomicGiven the massive amount capital expenditure, it is essential that the economics makes sense and this is one of the weakest parts of the argument. Take the Suez canal as a comparison:From the above we can see two big issues:Time saving. The time saving for the Kra Isthmus canal shown above is unfortunately optimistic. This is because the Kra Canal will only be one lane and the canal will need locks. As a result, ships may need to wait on average 11–20 hours to get into the canal, meaning the savings will be 1 to 4 days. Further the 3 or 4 days savings are savings only compares going through Indonesian waters, as opposed to going through Singapore, to access the Straits of Malacca. So if you weight the number of days by how many ships use which routes, the savings you end up with a weighted basis is likely to be 1.33 to 2.8 days. It currently takes just over 28 days to go from Qatar to Shanghai via Singapore. The maximum saving on a weighted basis is thus around 10% in terms of time and a lot less in terms of dollar cost.The largest number of vessels going through the Suez Canal are container ships. However, one of the main attractions of Singapore is that it accounts for nearly 25% of world seaborne traffic therefore allowing it to be an incredibly efficient transshipment point (meaning a ship leaving Shanghai can transport cargo to say 50+ destinations, then in Singapore most of these containers need only wait 1 day to be placed on another ship to takm them on their way to their final destination). To build this sort of hard and soft infrastructure will take decades. Thus, the Kra Canal will probably not be able to win big in the Container and general cargo market in the first instance and will have to concentrate on the energy transport market.But there are three issues when looking at the energy transport market.While 90% of China’s oil comes from the Middle East, many of the most efficient vessels carrying the oil are vessels that are larger than Suezmax, which will be the largest types of ships possible in the Kra Canal. Meaning the most lucrative part of this market is physically incapable of using the proposed Kra canal.While China uses a lot of oil, its main energy comes from coal. China’s coal primarily comes from her own lands with additional coal from Indonesia, Australia and others. The former two will never need to use the Kra Canal. Meaning part of the bulk carrier market uses a route where the Kra adds no value.China expects gas to replace oil as the more important source of energy. Japan and Korea also are becoming heavily dependent on gas. While a lot of gas comes from Qatar, the additional gas is expected to come from Russia, Central Asia and Myanmar via pipelines and from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and North America via tankers. These tankers will never need to use the Kra Canal. Meaning the largest part of new energy for China will use a route where the proposed Kra Canal adds no value.… China’s demand for oil relative to oil (IEA source)… China’s demand for gas relative to oil (IEA source)… where China sources her gas fromCompetitionMalaysia has not been passive in the face of Thailand’s proposal. While they have considered having their own canal, the danger lies in another more insidious proposal. Namely that of floating terminals linked by pipelines across the Kra Isthmus. One such proposal will see tankers stopping in Penang and then pipelines shipping the crude, blended or refined oil across the Malaysian portion of the Kra Isthmus to the east coast States of Kelantan or Terengganu. This proposal has 4 major advantages:It is very focused.It is very, very cheap compared to the Kra Isthmus, particularly as the Penang side already has more than half the required infrastructure.It is very fast to build as a pipeline is far less challenging to construct even over mountainous terrain.It allows VLCC and ULCC to discharge in Penang, then the oil be blended and then be transported by pipeline into smaller vessels, that can be docked in many more places, in Kelantan or Terengganu.PoliticalFor centuries, Thailand has had an insurgency problem in parts of its southern provinces. The main reason is that is that the peoples in the region are not ethnic Thais, do not share a common language, religion or culture. Many are concerned that a canal that will physically divide this region of tension, thereby reigniting the separatist sentiment.Geo-politicalThailand is the only Southeast Asian nation to have avoided colonialism. This is in part because it is less Geo-politically sensitive than say Singapore (Straits of Malacca) or Vietnam (massive coastline). However, given that the main beneficiary outside of Thailand of the proposed Kra Isthmus Canal will be China, the Geo-political issues will not be small. The US and EU may see the Kra Canal as giving China a sudden and significant influence over the whole of Southeast Asia, thereby sharply upsetting the careful balance of power in favor of China.EnvironmentalThe Kra Isthmus, and surrounding areas, have a unique micro climate due to the dual influences of the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea as well as the two mountain ranges that meet on the isthmus. As a result, there are many lush wetland rain forests. The uniqueness is highlighted by the fact that several large parts of the isthmus are or slated to be protected reserves.A much smaller project, the Muang Takua dam project, has already attracted significant local population push back due to environmental concerns. The Kra Isthmus Canal will have a far, far greater impact given that we are introducing salt water to marshlands. Seepage of such salt water could easily contaminate the water table for up to 4km on either side of the canal. This implies contaminating up to 960 sqkm, an area larger than Singapore. Besides salt water, the micro organisms that live in the Gulf of Thailand differs from those of the Andaman Sea and land organisms on the Kra Isthmus. Cross contamination and massive ecological change is thus certain. Then there is also the almost certain danger of oil spillage. All this could devastate tourism (top earner in the region) and local fishing.… green areas are protectedWorld BankWhile the World Bank supports regional development, it tends to shy away from controversies. The World Bank has also stated that it will only support economically sound projects. Given this, the Kra Isthmus project is likely to be at the World Bank’s bottom draw given that it could:Severely upset US and EU interests in Southeast Asia, thereby embroiling the World Bank in a massive political storm;Cause a massive environmental impact resulting in severe reputational risk for the World Bank;Inflame separatism thereby putting its people on the ground at physical risk; andbe an economic disaster due to changes in energy mix of China, Japan and Korea and a potentially devastating pipeline response from Malaysia.The institution that is more likely to look at this project is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.