A ceremony took place on August 4 to officially mark the start of work on the tunnel that will carry the southern extension of the MRT Purple Line under the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, with the launch of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) from a worksite near Phra Pok Klao Bridge.
Due for completion by May 2026, this will be the second tunnel under the river on Bangkok’s metro network. The new tunnel forms part of the 3.1km Phan Fa - Memorial Bridge section of the extension, which includes two underground stations.
The contractor is the ITD-NWR MRT joint venture of Italian-Thai Development and Nawarat Patanakarn, which in March 2022 was awarded a civil works contract worth Baht 15.2bn ($US 470.2m). This was one of six civil works contracts for the southern extension of the Purple Line, worth Baht 82bn in total.
The extension will run for 23.6km from Tao Poon to Rat Burana with 10 underground and seven elevated stations. According to Thailand’s transport minister, Suriya Jungrungreangkit, civil works are 59.49% complete, ahead of schedule by 51.52%.
The Tao Poon - National Library section of the extension is expected to open by 2028, with the remainder due to be completed in 2030.
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