Two Southern Bridges Connecting Koh Lanta and Songkhla Lake

MGR Online•Economy•6d ago

Reader Briefing

The Department of Rural Roads has signed contracts for the construction of bridges across Songkhla Lake and connecting Koh Lanta with a budget of over 4.6 billion baht.

•The Department of Rural Roads hired a Malaysian contractor to build two bridge projects in the southern region.
•Construction piling is expected to start in October-November 2026, with completion projected for 2029.
•Funding is sourced from a 70:30 ratio between the World Bank and the Thai national budget.

Overview

•The Department of Rural Roads signed construction contracts for a bridge across Songkhla Lake connecting Songkhla and Phatthalung provinces and a bridge connecting Koh Lanta in Krabi province.
•Construction piling for the projects is scheduled for October-November 2026, with an expected completion year of 2029.
•The Songkhla Lake bridge will be 7 km long (6.6 km bridge and 400 meters of connecting road) with a total construction budget of 4,604 million baht.
•The Koh Lanta bridge will span approximately 2.240 km with a total construction budget of 1,781 million baht.
•The projects are funded by the World Bank (70%) and the Thai national budget (30%).
•The Songkhla Lake bridge is expected to reduce travel distance by approximately 80 km or reduce travel time from 2 hours to 10 minutes.
•The Koh Lanta bridge is expected to reduce travel time from a maximum of 2-3 hours via ferry to 2 minutes and increase annual tourists to 1-1.5 million people.
•The Songkhla Lake bridge project is currently requesting permission to revoke the Thale Luang Non-Hunting Area from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

Full article content is available on the original source.

Read on MGR Online (Thai Version)View in Google Translate

Source: MGR Online (Original)

View Original Article

Key Entities

Person

Anutin Charnvirakul(อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล)ℹ️

The Prime Minister who witnessed the contract signing ceremony.

Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn(พิพัฒน์ รัชกิจประการ)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport.

Ekniti Nitithanprapas(เอกนิติ นิติทัณฑ์ประภาศ)ℹ️

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

Suchart Chomklin(สุชาติ ชมกลิ่น)ℹ️

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

Pharadon Prisnanantakul(ภราดร ปริศนานันทกุล)

The Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office.

Sanphet Bunyamanee(สรรเพชญ บุญญามณี)

The Deputy Minister of Transport.

Stephen N. Ndegwa(สตีเฟน เอ็น. นเดกวา)

The World Bank Director for Thailand and Myanmar.

Pichit Hunsi(พิชิต หุ่นศิริ)

The Director General of the Department of Rural Roads.

Organization

Department of Rural Roads(ทช.)ℹ️

The government agency responsible for the bridge construction projects.

World Bank(ธนาคารโลก)ℹ️

The international financial institution providing 70% of the project funding.

CMC

A joint venture representative that signed the construction contract.

CHEC CONSTRUCTION (M) SDN.BHD

A Malaysian company that signed the construction contract.

Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation(กรมอุทยานแห่งชาติสัตว์ป่าและพันธุ์พืช)ℹ️

The agency being asked to revoke the Thale Luang Non-Hunting Area for the project.

Department of Marine and Coastal Resources(กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง)

An agency collaborating on environmental protection for the project.

Department of Fisheries(กรมประมง)

An agency collaborating on coastal aquaculture and fishery resource restoration.

Ministry of Transport(กระทรวงคมนาคม)ℹ️

The ministry overseeing the bridge construction projects.

Ministry of Finance(กระทรวงการคลัง)ℹ️

The ministry managing the foreign loan from the World Bank.

Place

Songkhla Lake(ทะเลสาบสงขลา)ℹ️

The location of one of the bridge projects connecting Songkhla and Phatthalung.

Koh Lanta(เกาะลันตา)

The location of the bridge project in Krabi province.

Songkhla Province(จ.สงขลา)ℹ️

One of the provinces connected by the Songkhla Lake bridge.

Phatthalung Province(จ.พัทลุง)ℹ️

One of the provinces connected by the Songkhla Lake bridge.

Krabi Province(จ.กระบี่)ℹ️

The province where the Koh Lanta bridge project is located.

Thale Luang Non-Hunting Area(เขตห้ามล่าสัตว์ป่าทะเลหลวง)

The protected area that requires permission for revocation to allow bridge construction.

Buri Sriphu Hotel(โรงแรมบุรีศรีภู)

The venue in Hat Yai, Songkhla, where the contract signing took place.