A bridge connecting the mainland to a popular resort island does not necessarily promise more prosperity for the latter. It could just transfer more problems to it, which is a risk now facing Koh Samui.
A plan to build a bridge linking the southern mainland with the resort island looks set to be put in motion after the first round of public hearings was held in early August at three locations -- Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Koh Samui.
All attendants eagerly greeted the project, hoping the overland connection would bolster the local economy and carry more tourists to Koh Samui, according to the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat), the agency in charge of the project.
"The bridge will be an option for road users, offering them convenience and safety on their way to Koh Samui," it said.
The 20-kilometre bridge project had long been mooted by authorities and locals to open up the island for more holidaymakers and bring about more economic wealth.
The plan was picked up by Bhumjaithai, the party responsible for transport and tourism, when it was handed to then-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's government.
The bridge will offer travellers another way of visiting the island, in addition to planes, ferries, express boats and slow boats at night. Supporters say the overland link would end the long lines of vehicles clogging the piers in Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat, waiting to be ferried to the island during long weekends.
The construction site of the bridge has not been finalised. Prospective locations include Don Sak district of Surat Thani and two places in Khanom district of neighbouring Nakhon Si Thammarat on the mainland. All are closest to Samui.
The Exat expects construction to start in 2028, and the bridge will be in service in late 2030 if the project gets final approval from the government after more hearings and an environmental impact study. That is only seven years from now.
A graphic image provided by the local government shows the design of the bridge to link Koh Samui with the mainland.
With Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin clearly showing a tourism push to be placed high on the new government's agenda, the pace of the bridge project could possibly be accelerated, as many businesses on the island are looking for more tourists to Koh Samui to make it rival to Phuket.
In fact, the tourism sector is one of the few key engines left for the government to drive the economy forward amid a slump in exports and weak domestic consumption.
Of course, a bridge could propel the economy, as in the case of the Penang Bridge in Malaysia. It was inaugurated in 1985 to end the traffic jams between the Malaysian mainland and the island, seen as a barrier hindering the island from shining. Penang has been one of the fastest economic growth states in Malaysia since the bridge was operational.
But a bridge could exacerbate a problem still unresolved on Koh Samui: its huge pile of garbage. The second-largest island in the country has a population of almost 70,000 and welcomes 2.6 million visitors every year, 80% of them foreigners. The figures do not count the non-registered population working there, which is estimated at 300,000 or more.
Without the bridge to bring more tourists to Koh Samui, the island has the headache of a trash problem. It has seen the amount of garbage climb from 120 tonnes a day in 2008 to 143 tonnes in 2015 and about 200 tonnes today. This paradise island has accumulated 200,000 tonnes at its main dump site.
Koh Samui Municipality is struggling to sort this out, and a solution will not be seen in the foreseeable future due to its poor waste-management system. What it can do now is export some wrapped garbage to other dump sites on the mainland, notably in Surat Thani.
An urgent problem facing Kon Samui is not the limited flights in and out but rather the traffic jams at ferry piers that discourage tourists from going to the island, according to business operators there.
Koh Samui needs to find a way to get rid of its mountain of rubbish first. And it will obviously keep growing with more tourists going there if the bridge is built and put in service.
Holidaymakers come and go, but locals live there. Nobody wants to see the paradise island of Samui tainted by a mountain of garbage.
Saritdet Marukatat is a Bangkok Post columnist and former Digital Media News Editor at the paper. Contact Saritdet at saritdet@yahoo.com