Thailand's deputy prime minister urged Japan on Tuesday to invest in an east-west railway project.

Newly appointed Somkid Jatusripitak, who is in charge of economic policy, outlined the benefits to be received by building a new East-West rail link in Thailand to more than 500 Japanese businessmen gathered for a forum at Bangkok's Queen Sirikit convention center.

The East-West corridor's lower railway connects Laem Chabang port in the east, where the Map Ta Put industrial estate — home to many Japanese factories — is situated, to Bangkok and to Kanchanaburi province in the west, as well as to Dawei in Myanmar, where a special economic zone is being constructed.

"This line is even more vital and beneficial to Japan than the (planned) Bangkok to Chiang Mai shinkansen," said the deputy minister. "It is up to Japan to decide."

Somkid also tried to persuade Japanese to invest in the country with economic incentives, such as tax exemption for 15 years, adding that the granting of land ownership rights to foreigners is being considered.

Somkid, who expressed his fondness for Japanese food and hot springs, is scheduled to take Thai investors to Japan this autumn for a business-matching event with Japanese investors.