Skip to main content

Thailand highway development programme

Thailand has set out plans for an ambitious highway development programme.
By MJ Woof July 15, 2020 Read time: 1 min
Thailand’s holiday destination of Phuket will be one part of the country to benefit from a new highway link - image © courtesy of Sarah Biswell

Thailand is setting out plans for an ambitious highway and road development programme. The programme will help improve transport links with the country’s neighbours, with eight new highways being planned.

The Ministry of Transport of Thailand is working on the transport network development programme. In all, the eight new highways will total close to 5,000km.

The longest route will be a 1,660km highway running between Songkhla and Chiang Rai, whie Nong Khai and Laem Chabang will be connected by a 490km highway, and Surin and Bung Kan will be joined by a 470km highway.

An 880km highway will connect Ubon, Ratchathani and Tak, while a 710km highway will link Tak with Nakhon Phanom. A 310km highway will link Sa Kaeo with Kanchanaburi, while a 220km highway will connect Kanchanaburi and Trat. In addition, a 190km highway will run between Surat Thani and Phuket.

Construction of the first sections of the highways should commence in 2022 or 2023. The highways will likely be built under the PPP model. New towns will be developed along these highway routes also.

Related Content

  • Transport development plan for Laos
    June 14, 2022
    A transport development plan is in hand for Laos.
  • Work starting on Norway’s mega-tunnel project
    January 5, 2018
    Construction is now commencing on Norway’s Rogfast tunnel mega-project on the E39 route between Bergen and Stavanger. The project will cost around €1.8 billion to construct according to some estimates. The new project will set several world records as it will be the longest and deepest undersea road tunnel ever constructed, measuring 27.3km and reaching a maximum 392m below the sea bed. Once the new tunnel opens to traffic in 2025 or 2026 it will reduce the travel time between Bergen and Stavanger, in the
  • Kenya highway project financing resolution
    May 17, 2018
    Construction work on Kenya’s vital Mombasa-Nairobi highway upgrade project is now going ahead as planned. A resolution has been achieved that will solve the funding issues that had threatened to delay the project. The project will cost nearly US$3 billion in all and is crucial for the country’s economic development as it will provide a new four lane highway connecting Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, with its largest port at Mombasa. But there were concerns that the funding method based on a series of loans that w
  • Increase in roads and highways in China’s Shiyan City
    January 7, 2016
    Shiyan City in China’s Hubei Province has seen a major increase in its road and highway network, due to significant spending on road construction in the area. Between 2011 and 2015, the total length of the road network in Shiyan City increased to 26,989km, following spending of some US$7.07 billion on road construction by the authorities. The network expansion programme also included building four highways, with a total length of 522km while the rural road network grew by 7,425km in all. The development of