Greater Hatyai-Songkhla Metropolitan Area

The Greater Hatyai-Songkhla Metropolitan Area is an urban corridor in Southern Thailand's Songkhla Province between two cities--Hat Yai, the commercial center of the province and the region, and Songkhla, the provincial capital. Located 30 km apart, the twin cities are complementary to each other. Hat Yai is a bustling modern city with thriving commercial and tourism sectors. It is a weekend shopping and entertainment destination for tourists from neighboring Malaysia, especially Chinese Malaysians, who like to visit Buddhist temples and Chinese shrines in the area. On the other hand, Songkhla is a serene centuries-old port city with beautiful beaches and fine Sino-Portuguese shophouses.

Population

The metropolitan area has an estimate registered population of 801,747, but an estimated real population are over 1,000,000. Hat Yai has the population of 157,482 in the city and 208,739 in the suburbs. Songkhla has the population of 73,465 in the city and 88,853 in the suburbs. The area covers parts of 4 districts in the province, namely Hat Yai District (366,171), Songkhla Town District (163,066), Sadao District (119,477), Singha Nakhon District (79,472), Namom District (21,559), Khlong Hoi Khong District (23,934) and Bang Klam District (28,068).

"Urban population in Hat Yai District:"

"Urban population in Singha Nakhon District--a suburb of Songkhla:"

The population figures are referenced from the data provided by the [http://www.thailocaladmin.go.th/index.jsp Department of Local Administration, Ministry of Interior, Royal Thai Government] .

Education

There are 5 universities in the area.

There are also professional, vocational and technical colleges in the area, including Boromrajchonnani (Princess Mother's) Nursing College Songkhla, Tinsulanonda Fisheries College in Songkhla, and [http://www.htc.ac.th Hat Yai Technical College] . Prestigious high schools in the area include [http://www.mvsk.ac.th Maha Vajiravudh School] in Songkhla, [http://www.hatyaiwit.ac.th Hat Yai Wittayalai] (Hat Yai College), and [http://www.psuschool.psu.ac.th PSU Wittayanusorn School] (PSU Memorial School), [http://www.saengthong.ac.th Saeng Thong Vittaya School] (Catholic boy school), [http://www.thida.ac.th Thida Nukhro School] (Catholic girl school).

Transport and Communications

The metropolitan area is well-served by all modes of transportation. National Highway no. 4 (Phetkasem Road) runs from Bangkok through Hat Yai till the border at Sadao pass (Thailand) - Bukit Kayu Hitam pass (Malaysia). It is a part of Asian Highway no. A2 (Israel-Singapore). Hat Yai is the hub of intercity bus and van service with domestic and international destinations.

It is also a railway hub of the south. The southern rail line runs from Bangkok to Hat Yai Junction, a major train station with a large railyard and locomotive shed, and branches out into two separate lines. One line continues running till the border at Sungai Golok, Narathiwat; the other line runs till the border at Padang Besar in Sadao, Songkhla, connecting to Malaysian railway. Haadyai Station is Thailand's only international train station as it is served by State Railway of Thailand's trains and Keretapi Tanah Melayu's trains. Daily intercity express trains stopped at Hat Yai include SRT's International Express(Bangkok - Butterworth) and Thaksin Express(Bangkok - Sungai Golok) and KTM's Langkawi Express(Kuala Lumpur - Hat Yai). Bangkok-Yala express diesel rail cars also make daily stops at Hat Yai. There is also a now-abandoned branch rail line from Hat Yai to Songkhla. The interurban commuter train service was discontinued about 30 years ago due to intense competition from buses.

On air transport, the area has Hat Yai International Airport, located next to RTAF Wing 56, about 9 km southwest of the city. Thai Airways, Nok Air, Thai Air Asia, 1 2GO Airlines and Tiger Airlines serve the airport, linking the city with Bangkok, Don Muang(Bangkok2),Phuket and Singapore. There is also a naval airport in Songkhla, located in Songkhla Naval Base.

On marine transport and maritime commerce, Songkhla Port, southern Thailand's largest deep-sea port located in Singha Nakhon, serves the province and the region. The old Songkhla port located in Songkhla Harbour still serves smaller vessels and fishing boats. It has a big fish market located inside.

Telecommunication infrastructure in the area is well-developed. In fact, Hat Yai is the first city in Thailand that is connected to the Internet. It all began with a Thai-Australian joint research project conducted at PSU in 1986.

See also

* List of metropolitan areas in Thailand by population

External links

* [http://www.songkhla.go.th Songkhla Provincial Office] (provincial arm of central government)
* [http://www.skpao.org Songkhla Provincial Administration Organization] (provincial-level local government)
* [http://www.songkhlamun.org Songkhla City Municipality] (municipal-level local government)
* [http://www.hatyaicity.go.th Hat Yai City Municipality] (municipal-level local government)
* [http://www.geocities.com/songkhla.geo/HAADYAI.html Last Train to Haadyai]
* [http://www.geocities.com/songkhla.geo/SONGKHLA.html The Songkhla Bullet] (History of the discontinued interurban commuter train between Hat Yai and Songkhla)
* [http://www.geocities.com/songkhla.geo/SMUGGLER.html The Smugglers' Express]