Phuket Island is 48 kilometers long and 21 kilometers wide, Phuket City being located on the southeastern part of the island. The total resident population of Phuket amounted at 695 0000 inhabitants in 2019, +32% in comparison with the population estimated by the census of 2010. Foreigner citizens (especially tourists) represent 29% of the total resident population and their growing number is the main explanation to this demographic increase. In 2019, the total number of motorized trips amounted at 1 754 000 per day. Most of them are made by private car or motorbike, leading to several issues, such as pollution, road congestion and road insecurity.
In this context, the OTP (Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning of Thailand), with the support of AFD (French Development Agency) and in close coordination with MRTA (Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand) and Phuket authorities launched a Sustainable Urban Transport and Heritage (SUTRHE) Project with the aim of defining a new public transport systems for Phuket.
Egis teams mobilized on the SUTRHE project
This SUTRHE study resulted in the conception of an integrated and sustainable mobility project for Phuket Island. Egis employees from Thailand and France, with two other French companies, DVDH (leader) and AREP South Asia worked together on this ambitious project.
They conducted the review of an existing study carried out at a Preliminary Design level by MRTA and their consultants. It concerns a 42-km long LRT line to be implemented on a north-south corridor through a PPP. This first step included the analysis of the current LRT design to optimize measures, improve the future LRT operation and its accessibility. The scope of work included proposals to lower the project cost and a review of its environmental and social impacts.
The Egis team worked also on the definition of transport systems for an east-west corridor, in order to create an attractive link connected to the north-south LRT in Phuket City center. The east-west transport scenarios combined a cable car between Patong and Phuket City and an urban LRT serving Phuket City center. Egis took care of the definition of each scenario, with an analysis of the urban integration of both LRT and cable car lines, a proposition of operation strategy, and the estimation of accurate CAPEX and OPEX for each line. This included also the realization of 3D perspectives of the cable car station urban integration and an assessment of the environmental and social impacts of the cable car project.
In addition, the Egis employees participated in workshops with Thai authorities on the topics of transport and mobility. They also organized two training sessions for Thai authorities, with following topics: LRT operation and implementation of a cable car project in Thailand.
In the coming weeks, the different parties will meet to define and plan the next steps of the project.