Songkhla Lake Bridge contract set to boost southern travel and economy
The project, with a budget of more than THB4.645 billion, will link Songkhla and Phatthalung and cut travel time from almost two hours to about 15 minutes.
- Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is scheduled to co-chair the signing of the construction contract for the Songkhla Lake Bridge on August 31, 2026.
- The project aims to boost tourism and the local economy by connecting Songkhla and Phatthalung provinces, cutting travel time from nearly two hours to about 15 minutes.
- Set to become Thailand's longest bridge, the project has a budget of over THB 4.645 billion, primarily funded by a World Bank loan, with completion scheduled for 2029.
- The development includes significant environmental protections, such as a conservation plan for the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin, developed in partnership with the World Bank.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is due to co-chair a ceremony to sign the construction contract for the Songkhla Lake Bridge on August 31, 2026, one of the key events during the mobile Cabinet meeting in Songkhla.
The project is planned to become Thailand’s longest bridge across a body of water.
The Songkhla Lake Bridge project, linking Krasae Sin district in Songkhla with Khao Chaison district in Phatthalung, is drawing attention as a ‘new landmark’ and a global ‘case study’.
Its budget exceeds THB4.645 billion, with 70% funded by a World Bank loan and 30% from the state budget.
Following completion of the Irrawaddy dolphin conservation plan, the Finance Ministry is conducting a further review.
Once the review is complete, the construction contract is to be signed, and work will begin immediately, with completion scheduled for 2029.
A media delegation inspected preparations for the Songkhla Lake Bridge and Lanta Bridge projects during the previous week.
The delegation was led by Jindarat Viriyataveekul, director-general of the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), together with Melinda Good, the World Bank’s division director for Thailand and Myanmar; Pichit Hunsiri, director-general of the Department of Rural Roads (DRR); and senior officials from relevant environmental and natural resource agencies.
Jindarat said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas had signed a loan agreement and a grant agreement with the World Bank on July 23.
The Finance Ministry is completing the legal procedures required to bring the loan agreement into force, allowing DRR to sign the construction contract and begin work within 2026.
Pichit said the construction contract was expected to be signed on August 31, provided the Finance Ministry completed its procedures.
The contractual construction period is limited to 1,080 days, equivalent to about two years and 11 months, with completion and opening expected in mid-August.
Pichit added that the Songkhla Lake Bridge would cover about seven kilometres and cut travel time between the two provinces from nearly two hours using the existing detour to around 15 minutes.
The project would improve travel and freight transport while supporting tourism and local economies around Songkhla Lake.
The Lanta Bridge project involves the construction of a bridge about two kilometres long from the mainland to Koh Lanta Noi, which is already connected by bridge to Koh Lanta Yai.
The project is intended to reduce reliance on vehicle ferries and waiting times, cutting a journey that can take nearly two hours to no more than five minutes while improving travel for residents and tourists.
DRR confirmed that both projects had undergone the required studies and environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes.
Environmental concerns and mitigation measures have been incorporated into the construction designs and contract specifications to allow infrastructure development to proceed alongside the sustainable conservation of natural resources.
The implementation schedule confirms the same start date and limits construction to 1,080 days, or about two years and 11 months. Completion is expected around August 14 or 15, 2029.
If work proceeds as planned, both projects will provide important infrastructure links, reduce travel costs and journey times, and strengthen the long-term potential of tourism, transport and the economy in southern Thailand.
Melinda Good said the World Bank regarded both projects as a ‘Global Model’ for infrastructure development aligned with sustainable nature conservation.
She said the projects went beyond improving transport links by raising quality of life and were expected to create more than 25,000 jobs, help more than 320,000 local people reach schools, hospitals and workplaces more easily, and attract high-quality tourism to the region.
The projects are located in environmentally sensitive areas, particularly the Songkhla Lake Bridge site, which is a habitat for the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin, with only 14 to 20 remaining.
PDMO and DRR have therefore formed a partnership involving five principal agencies, businesses and local communities, applying the highest level of Environmental and Social Standards (ESS).
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed covering dolphin movement tracking systems, sediment traps to prevent water turbidity and strict controls on contaminants throughout construction.
The measures are intended to allow economic development to proceed while protecting natural resources and traditional fishing livelihoods.
