The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on Wednesday opened a new drainage tunnel to relieve flood-prone streets in six districts.
Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang officially opened the 5-metre-wide tunnel, which runs under the Bang Sue canal. The opening ceremony took place at the system's Bang Sue pump station on Pracharat Sai 1 Road in Dusit district.
The tunnel stretches 6.4 kilometres from the Lat Phrao Canal near Ratchadaphisek Road, running under the Bang Sue Canal, to adjoin the Chao Phraya River in Kiakkai area.
It will help drain a total area of 56 square kilometres in Bang Sue, Chatuchak, Din Daeng, Dusit, Huai Khwang and Phaya Thai districts. The system includes three water reception facilities on Ratchadaphisek, Vibhavadi Rangsit and Kamphaeng Phet roads. The pump station at the end of the tunnel can release up to 60 cubic metres of water per second into the Chao Phraya River.
The tunnel improves drainage on the following flood-prone streets: Phahon Yothin Road between Ha Yaek Lat Phrao and Saphan Khwai intesections, Vibhavadi Rangsit Road between Sutthisan and Ha Yaek Lat Phrao intersections, Ratchadaphisek Road from Ratchayothin intersection to the Bang Sue Canal, Lat Phrao Road from Ratchada-Lat Phrao intersection to the Bang Sue Canal, Kamphaeng Phet Road from under the Srirat expressway to the Chatuchak market, and Samsen Road from the Bang Krabue Canal to Kiakkai intersection.
The tunnel can handle rainfall of up to 60 millimetres an hour.