Greater Hatyai–Songkhla Metropolitan Area

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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.

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[edit] Population

The metropolitan area has an estimate registered population of 799,985, but an estimated real population are over 1,000,000. Hat Yai has the population of 157,706 in the city and 211,260 in the suburbs. Songkhla has the population of 72,684 in the city and 90,337 in the suburbs. The area covers parts of 4 districts in the province, namely Hat Yai District (368,996), Songkhla Town District (163,021), Sadao District (114,338), Singha Nakhon District (79,727), Namom District (21,727), Khlong Hoi Khong District (24,037) and Bang Klam District (28,169).

Urban population in Hat Yai District:

City/town name Status Population (2009)
Hat Yai city municipality 157,702
Kho Hong town municipality 44,895
Khuan Lang town municipality 38,206
Khlong Hae town municipality 27,238
Ban Phru town municipality 20,549
Nam Noi township municipality 12,947
Ku Tao township municipality 10,608
Phatong township municipality 7,828
Ban Phru (Outside Banphru Town) township municipality 5,917
Total 331,635

Urban population in Songkhla Town District:

City/town name Status Population (2009)
Songkhla city municipality 72,684
Khao Rup Chang township municipality 38,726
Total 111,410

Urban population in Sadao District--a suburb of Hat Yai:

City/town name Status Population (2009)
Sadao town municipality 19,109
Padang Besar town municipality 14,333
Phang La township municipality 8,259
Prik township municipality 6,059
Samnakkham township municipality 11,485
total 59,245

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

City/town name Status Population (2009)
Singha Nakhon town municipality 36,395

Urban population in Bang Klam District--a suburb of Songkhla:

City/town name Status Population (2009)
Tha Chang township municipality 18,673

The population figures are referenced from the data provided by the Department of Local Administration, Ministry of Interior, Royal Thai Government.

[edit] Education

There are 5 universities in the area.

Name of university Type Name of campus Location
Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Public Hat Yai Campus Kho Hong
Hat Yai University (HU) Private Kho Hong
Thaksin University (TSU) Public Songkhla Campus Khao Rup Chang
Songkhla Rajabhat University Public Khao Rup Chang
Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya Public Songkhla Campus Songkhla

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 Hatyai Technical College. Prestigious high schools in the area include Maha Vajiravudh School in Songkhla, Hatyai Wittayalai school , and PSU Wittayanusorn School (PSU Memorial School), Saeng Thong Vittaya School (Catholic boy school), Thida Nukhro School (Catholic girl school).

[edit] Transport and Communications

The metropolitan area is well-served by all modes of transportation. Thailand Route 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.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Hatyai%E2%80%93Songkhla_Metropolitan_Area"