Bueng Kan (, ) is a town municipality (''
thesaban mueang'') in
Mueang Bueng Kan district, in
Bueng Kan province,
Isan
Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan language, Isan/, ; ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pāli ''isāna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provinces in northeastern Thai ...
(northeastern Thailand). It is the district capital and is on the
Mekong River,
opposite the
Laotian town of
Pakxan of
Bolikhamsai province. It lies at the junction of Highways 212 and
222, northeast of
Nong Khai and northeast of
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
.
The economy is based on agriculture, with para rubber as the principal crop, and tourism.
Toponymy
''Bueng'' () means marsh; ''Kan'' () is associated with the Hindu deity
Kāla
Kala (, ) is a Sanskrit term that means 'time' or 'death'. As time personified, destroying all things, Kala is a god of death, and often used as one of the epithets of Yama. In Shaivism, Kala is known as the fiery avatar of Shiva, Bhairava, K ...
, or the colour black.
History
The settlement became a
sanitary district in 1956. Like all sanitary districts, it was upgraded to sub-district municipality in 1999.
Bueng Kan was formerly part of
Nong Khai Province until the formal establishment of the new province of the same name on 23 March 2011.
On 25 March 2020, the Ministry of Interior announce to dissolve Wisit subdistrict municipality and Bueng Kan subdistrict administrative organization (SAO) and combine the two with Bueng Kan subdistrict municipality. Also upgrade the status of the latter to Bueng Kan town municipality. Published in
Royal Gazette, volume 137, special section 179 Ngor, date 5 August 2020 and effective on the same date.
Geography
Wisit subdistrict, west part of Bueng Kan town municipality are plains interspersed with undulating, uneven slopes.
Bueng Kan subdistrict, most of the east part of Bueng Kan town municipality is lowland with watersources, such as Nong Bueng Kan, Nong Fang Daeng and Huai Kan Ya.
Climate
Administration
Local government
The administration of Bueng Kan town municipality () is responsible for the combined area of Wisit and Bueng Kan subdistricts, that covers 59,494 rai ~ and consists of total 24 administrative villages (''
muban
Muban (; , ) is the lowest Administrative divisions of Thailand, administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet (place), hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74 ...
''). As of 2022: 20,103 people.
The town municipality is divided into three districts (''khet'').
Transportation
The city is connected to many major cities by day and night airconditioned express buses. The journey to Udon Thani takes around 3 hours 45 minutes, and Bangkok is from 10 hours 30 minutes to 12 hours away depending on company and route.
with direct flights (under normal conditions) to
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...
,
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...
U-Tapao,
Phuket
Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...
, and both Bangkok airports, is at 200 km by road from the city.
at 172 km with flights to
Bangkok (Don Mueang) at 172 km.
The nearest rail connection is
Udon Thani railway station in the centre of Udon city.
Building of the fifth Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge began in 2021. Construction of the bridge at about 4 km west of the city centre is expected to take 3 years for a completion in 2023. The project will link the cities of Bueng Kan in Thailand and Bolikhamxai in Laos across the Mekong River. Its cost will be around US$130.3 million. Thailand has agreed to pay US$25.47 million and Laos is covering about US$46.13 million. The bridge will enable Vietnam to be reached by road from Thailand through Laos over a distance of 150 km. Already existing Thai-Lao Friendship Bridges link
Nong Khai province with
Vientiane Prefecture (
First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge);
Mukdahan with
Savannakhet (
Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge);
Nakhon Phanom with
Thakhek (
Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge); and
Chiang Rai province
Chiang Rai (, ; , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six Provinces of Thailand, provinces that lies in Northern Thailand#Regional classification of northern Thailand, upper northern Thailand and is Thailand's northernmost province. It is bordered ...
with
Houayxay (
Fourth Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge).
References
External links
The navel of the Mekong 29 October 2020.
Bangkok Post
{{Bueng Kan Province
Populated places in Bueng Kan province
Populated places on the Mekong River
Cities and towns in Thailand