Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, in his capacity as chairman of the committee studying the Land Bridge project, revealed that the meeting concluded the project has low business feasibility and could impose a budgetary burden and contingent liability risk on the country in the future. The latest study found that the net present value, or NPV, previously estimated at 637.713 billion baht, has been revised down to negative 10.287 billion baht, reflecting high sensitivity to economic conditions and cargo volumes. The committee also expressed environmental concerns, proposing a new strategic environmental assessment, or SEA, as the original study did not cover the current route alignment, and port development could affect mangrove forests in Ranong province, which is a biosphere reserve and a wetland of international importance. It also proposed urgent measures: upgrading and fully utilizing the existing Ranong port, and developing a railway link connecting Ranong port to the national rail network, noting that construction of a new port on the Gulf of Thailand side is not yet necessary.