7km bridge over Songkhla Lake to boost southern Thailand transport

Plans are underway to construct a 7 kilometre bridge over Songkhla Lake starting next year, a project aimed at enhancing regional transport in southern Thailand.

This proposal includes a commitment to protect the local environment and wildlife, particularly the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins living within the lake.

The Department of Rural Roads (DRR) has formed a pact with four other state agencies – the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Department of Fisheries, and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning.

They have all signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to safeguard the ecology during the bridge’s construction and beyond.

Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit underscored the two-pronged objective of the bridge – bolstering cargo transport capacity and reducing travel time for locals. The bridge will connect the Krasae Sin district in Songkhla to Khao Chaison district in Phatthalung at an estimated cost of 4.8 billion baht.

Suriya expressed his commitment to ensuring the project does not disrupt the habitat of the Irrawaddy dolphins in Songkhla Lake. He implored the involved agencies to adopt a sustainable conservation model for the lake’s natural resources.

Montri Dechasakulsom, the deputy permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry, elaborated on the MoU. It entails a five-phase action plan spanning from 2024 to 2028, focusing on six key frameworks. The agreement obligates the five agencies to minimize threats to the dolphins and their habitat, restore lake resources, and rehabilitate marine life.

The MoU also entails conducting and publishing research on the ecological and biological aspects of the Irrawaddy dolphins in the lake. The agencies will support studies on the dolphin population and execute a sustainable management plan to protect the Irrawaddy dolphins and the lake’s resources, reported Bangkok Post.

Construction is slated to begin at the end of next year, with an expected completion date in 2026. The bridge is projected to reduce the travel time between the provinces from two hours to a mere 15 minutes and cut the distance from 80 kilometres to just 7 kilometres. This infrastructure is poised to improve logistics between cities on the Andaman coast and the Gulf of Thailand via Trang, Phatthalung, and Songkhla.

However, there have been concerns from the World Bank over the potential ecological impact of the bridge on the last remaining pod of endangered freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins in the South’s largest freshwater lake. Provided these concerns are addressed, the World Bank will greenlight the necessary loans, paving the way for the three-year construction phase to kick off next year.