The extension of Highway 7 to the Maptaphut industrial zone is a third complete and on-schedule to open in 2019, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said.
Speaking to reporters May 25, the minister added that the 4-billion-baht “renovation” of Highway 7’s Chonburi-Pattaya section will be complete by year-end.
The 14-billion-baht Maptaphut extension is now 32 percent complete. The 32-kilometer project still faces some complications regarding the contractors and budget ownership, but those issues are expected to be resolved within a few months, Arkhom said.
About 2,300 rai of land needs to be expropriated for the project at an additional cost of 14 billion baht.
The renovation project calls for construction of new toll gates in Ban Bung, Bang Phra, Nongkhram, Pong and Pattaya. The booths will support the Highway Department’s “Closed Circuit Motorway Fee Collection System” and reduce the amount of traffic bogging down the Phan Tong toll gate.
Construction is expected to be completed later this year and the booths will be put into service next year, Arkhom said.
Also improving the East’s logistics network, he said, is the construction of a billion-baht Route 331-Highway 7 interchange sending traffic to Laem Chabang Port and the Northeast.
