Bukit Bunga–Ban Buketa Bridge ( Malay: ''Jambatan Bukit Bunga–Ban Buketa'', th, สะพานบูเก๊ะตา) is a bridge crossing the Kolok River ( ms, Sungai Golok) at the

Malaysia–Thailand border The Malaysia–Thailand border divides the countries of Malaysia and Thailand and consists of a land boundary running for 595 km (370 mi) across the Malay Peninsula and maritime boundaries in the Straits of Malacca and the Gulf of Thaila ...

, connecting

Bukit Bunga Bukit Bunga is a village in Tanah Merah District, Kelantan, Malaysia. It is located at the Malaysia-Thailand border and is the latest border crossing between Malaysia and Thailand with the opening of the Bukit Bunga-Ban Buketa Bridge on December ...

town in

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in th ...

with

Buketa Buke Ta ( th, บูเก๊ะตา, ; ms, Bukit Tar) is a subdistrict municipality (''thesaban tambon'') in Waeng district, Narathiwat Province, Thailand. It covers an area of of the subdistrict Lochut, and as of 2007 has a population of 4,0 ...

village in Waeng District,

Narathiwat Province Narathiwat ( th, นราธิวาส, Malay: Menara) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan a ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. It is the newest border crossing between

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

and the second bridge crossing the Kolok river. The bridge was one of the co-operative projects under the framework of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT). The project, costing RM9.2 million with each both governments paying half, was given to a Malaysian

contractor A contractor is a person or company that performs work on a contract basis. The term may refer to: Business roles * Defense contractor, arms industry which provides weapons or military goods to a government * General contractor, an individual o ...

. The

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

for the bridge was held on 14 October 2004 by the prime ministers of both countries. Construction was delayed, especially on the Thai side, with escalations in the

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ...

in nearby Thai provinces, and it took 11 months of work to be completed 3 years later. It was officially opened on 21 December 2007 by the

Malaysian prime minister The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label=Jawi alphabet, Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branc ...

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...

, and the

Thai prime minister The prime minister of Thailand ( th, นายกรัฐมนตรี, , ; literally 'chief minister of state') is the head of government of Thailand. The prime minister is also the chair of the Cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed s ...

Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont ( th, สุรยุทธ์ จุลานนท์, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government between 2006 and 2008. He is a former supr ...

.
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References

Bridges in Kelantan Bridges in Thailand International bridges Malaysia–Thailand border crossings Bridges completed in 2007 Box girder bridges {{coord, 5, 50, 20.09, N, 101, 53, 32.74, E, type:landmark, display=title

See also

References