Koh Lanta Bridge Construction Starts November 14

Koh Lanta bridge in Krabi set to start construction on November 14LegacyConstruction of a 1.78-billion-baht bridge linking Koh Lanta in Krabi with the mainland is due to start on Saturday, November 14, when the Department of Rural Roads plans to issue the order for work to begin. Construction of the 2.24-kilometre Koh Lanta bridge should take about three years, and the bridge is due to open in 2029, reducing the island’s reliance on the vehicle ferry. Deputy Transport Minister Sanpetch Boonyamanee, who oversees the ministry’s work in the South, gave the start date while setting out the ministry’s investment plans for the region, adding that a larger bridge over Songkhla Lake will follow the same schedule. The department signed construction contracts for both bridges on August 31 in a ceremony witnessed by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, with Director-General Phichit Hunsiri signing alongside the CMC Joint Venture and Malaysia’s CHEC Construction (M) Sdn Bhd. To reach Koh Lanta Yai, drivers now take a vehicle ferry to Koh Lanta Noi and then cross the Siri Lanta Bridge, and the Nation reported that waits for the ferry can reach two to three hours at peak times. The new two-lane, cable-stayed bridge, with a main span of up to 200 metres, should cut that sea crossing to about two minutes. Sanpetch said the bridge would make travel, tourism and freight safer and more convenient and would improve access to medical care and emergency help. Because the bridge is not due to open until 2029, residents and visitors driving to the island will depend on the ferry until then. The Songkhla Lake bridge, a project worth about 4.6 billion baht, will run for about 7 kilometres between Krasae Sin district in Songkhla and Khao Chaison district in Phatthalung, and Sanpetch said it would cut the trip from almost two hours to between 15 and 30 minutes. The Cabinet approved a World Bank loan of 4.55 billion baht and a grant of 129.30 million baht for the two bridges on July 7. A road link to the mainland has been planned for a decade: in 2016, months after the Siri Lanta Bridge opened between Lanta Noi and Lanta Yai, the governor of Krabi at the time said the government had approved a new bridge to Koh Lanta. That plan was for a 1.5-kilometre bridge costing about 800 million baht, due to be finished by 2023. Photo courtesy of Prachachat Photo courtesy of Prachachat Photo courtesy of Prachachat Related news

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