The Thai Cabinet has approved funding for the construction of new bridges across Songkhla lake, connecting Ko Lanta to the mainland. (Photo: NNT) These new land connections will help significantly cut down travel time for local people and visitors.
The Thai Cabinet approved a 6.6 billion THB budget for the construction of two new bridges - one for Songkhla lake and the other for Ko Lanta.
The first bridge will allow people to travel between Krasae Sin district of Songkhla and Khao Chaison district of Phatthalung, effectively reducing the travel distance from 80 kilometers to only 7 kilometers, and shortening the travel time between these two places from 2 hours to only 15 minutes.
This new bridge will serve as an integral part of the new Andaman Sea to Gulf of Thailand tourism corridor between Trang, Phatthalung, and Songkhla.
The second and smaller project is the construction of a bridge linking Ko Lanta to the mainland in Krabi, which consists of a 2.2-kilometer bridge connecting the island to Krabi’s eastern shore.
The Department of Rural Roads is responsible for the construction of these two projects, with a 4.84 billion baht budget set for the Songkhla Lake bridge, and a 1.85 billion baht budget for the Ko Lanta bridge.
Thai Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said he believes these new transport connections will help attract more Thai and international tourists, promoting income among villagers in the region./.
VNA
