THAILAND: Mass Rapid Transit Authority signed six construction contracts for the 23·6 km extension of Bangkok’s Purple Line at a ceremony held on March 11.
The line, which connects central Bangkok with its northwestern suburbs, is being extended southwards from Tao Poon station to Rat Burana, via a tunnel under the old city. It will comprise a 13 km underground section with 10 stations and a 10 km elevated section with seven stations.
The contracts were awarded to the CKST-PL Joint Venture of CH Karnchang and Sino-Thai Engineering & Construction, the NWR MRT Joint Venture of Italian-Thai Development and Nawarat Patanakarn, and the Unique Engineering & Construction company.
The overall value of the contracts is 82bn baht.
Bangkok’s urban rail network is currently undergoing significant development. Both of MRTA’s existing routes, the Blue and Purple lines, are being extended, and four more lines are due to open in the coming years: the Pink and Yellow lines, both monorail lines, are expected to open this year; the Orange Line metro is expected to open in 2024-25, with the Brown Line also planned to open in 2025. Altogether, these should add 154 km of metro and commuter lines to the city’s transport network.
