Thailand Government plans infrastructure programme

Major plans are in hand in Thailand for transport infrastructure development. The country’s Ministry of Transport is revising its construction plans for a series of key transport infrastructure projects at present. Several selected plans will then be presented to the cabinet in mid-December 2015. A total of five public-private partnership (PPP) ventures are among projects that will be re-submitted to the cabinet for approval. Two of these PPP projects are highways that will cost an estimated US$3.9 billion.

The Ministry of Transport’s development plan for the highway network will cost around $58.82 billion in all. This will be carried out from 2016 until 2036. Under the plan, the ministry intends to build 21 highway routes under a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. The highways will stretch for 6,621km in total. These will consist of three routes in the southern region, 15 routes in the Eastern/Western/Central regions and four routes in the northeast region. A total of three routes, namely Map Ta Phut-Pattaya, Kanchanaburi-Bang Yai, and Nakhon Ratchasima-Bang Pa-in, are prioritised for the plan. Works on these three routes are to commence in 2016 and will be competed in 2019. Phase I of the highway network expansion plan will be carried out from 2016 until 2026, and covers highways that will link Bangkok with Chumphon, Nong Khai and Chiang Mai as well as outer ring roads for Bangkok and the neighbouring areas.

Meanwhile the Rural Roads Department plans to pave 2,700km of gravel roads in the next four years. A budget of up to $392.16 million will be required for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, to pave 2,000km of rural roads during this period. For the 2016 fiscal year, the department has plans to work on 700km of rural roads.