Motorway 82 construction proceeding smoothly
The Transport Ministry surveyed the progress of motorway construction on Rama II Road on Wednesday.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said the construction of Motorway 82 is being carried out by the Department of Highways. M82 will have a distance of 24.7 kilometres and a budget of 29.2 billion baht.
The construction is separated into two phases.
The first phase is Bang Khun Thian-Ekkachai, which has a distance of 8.3km and a budget of 10.47 billion baht. Around 60 per cent of this stretch is complete and it is expected to finish in June 2023.
The second phase is Ekkachai-Ban Phaeo, which has a distance of 16.4km and a budget of 18.75 billion baht. Construction of this stretch is expected to be completed by January 2025, according to the contract.
Saksayam said the whole route would improve transportation from Bangkok to the South, making it “efficient, convenient, fast and safe”. It would also improve logistics. Moreover, it would smooth the traffic flow on Rama II Road, which currently sees around 100,000 cars per day.
Highways Department director-general Sarawut Songsiwilai said the first phase of M82 construction was initially expected to finished by August 2022, but it was postponed to June 2023 as there was a problem with removing infrastructure and getting the area ready because they needed to wait for the Rama II Road expansion project – from 10 lanes to 14 lanes – to finish first.
This project is being carried out under operate & maintenance (O&M) as the department has asked the Transport Ministry and the Cabinet to approve a public-private partnership before private sector investment. It is expected to be fully operational in 2025.
