The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on Friday began digging its second large drainage tunnel, which will pass under the Bang Sue canal and connect to the Chao Phraya River in two years.
Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra presides over a ceremony to place a drill underground to build a new drainage tunnel for the capital (photo by Patipat Janthong)
In a ceremony to drop a drill near Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road in Chatuchak district, Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said urbanisation was reducing water-reserve areas in the capital and more tunnels are needed to speed drainage to handle excessive rainwater and prevent flooding.
The new tunnel will be the second of its type in Bangkok and in intended to speed drainage from the Lat Phrao canal to the Chao Phraya River. It is scheduled for completion in September 2016.
The 6.4-kilometre-long tunnel will stretch from under Ratchadaphisek Road, pass under the Bang Sue canal and adjoin the Chao Phraya River in the Kiakkai area.
MR Sukhumbhand said that the tunnel would be five metres in diameter and its drainage capacity would cover an area of 56 sq kilometres in Dusit, Bang Sue, Phaya Thai, Chatuchak, Din Daeng and Huai Khwang districts.
Once completed, it will help prevent flooding in several flood-prone roads, including Phahon Yothin Road between the Saphan Khwai and Lat Phrao intersections, Vibhavadi Rangsit Road between the Sutthisan and Lat Phrao intersections, Ratchadaphisek Road between the Ratchayothin intersection and the Bang Sue canal, Lat Phrao Road between the Ratchada-Lat Phrao intersection and the Bang Sue canal, Kamphaeng Phet Road between the Si Rat expressway and Chatuchak market, and Samsen Road between the Bang Krabue canal and Kiakkai intersection.
The 2.5-billion-baht project includes a pumping station at the end of the tunnel where it will adjoin the Chao Phraya River. The pump station is designed with a capacity of 60 cu metres of water per second.
Bangkok's first huge drainage tunnel is in the Rama IX-Ramkhamhaeng area. The Bangkok governor said there were projects to build a third tunnel in Bueng Nong Bon area next year, a fourth from the Thawi Watthana canal to the Phasi Charoen canal, and a fifth from the Prawet canal to the Suvarnabhumi canal.
An opening of the drainage tunnel project in Chatuchak district where a boring machine was lowered for drilling (photo by Patipat Janthong)