Bueng Kan Province


Bueng Kan, also spelled Bung Kan, is the 76th province of Thailand, established by the :s:Act Establishing Changwat Bueng Kan, BE 2554 |Act Establishing Changwat Bueng Kan, BE 2554 on 23 March 2011. The province, consisting of the districts partitioned off Nong Khai Province, lies in upper northeastern Thailand also called Isan. It is named after its central district, Mueang Bueng Kan.

Geography

The province is in the northeastern corner of Thailand. It borders, from the south clockwise, Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon, and Nong Khai Province. To the north and east it borders Bolikhamsai Province of Laos, with the Mekong River forming the boundary.
In Bung Khla district is the Phu Wua Wildlife Sanctuary, protecting forest-covered hills close to the Mekong River.

History

In 1994, Sumet Phromphanhao, a member of the House of Representatives from Nong Khai Province, proposed that the province of Bueng Kan be established by consolidating the Bueng Kan, Seka, So Phisai, Bung Khla, Bueng Khong Long, Pak Khat, Phon Charoen, and Si Wilai Districts of Nong Khai Province as a new province. The new province, if created, would be 4,305 km2, with a population of about 390,000 inhabitants. At that time, the Ministry of Interior replied that creating a new province would load a heavy burden to the state budget and was contrary to the resolution of the Council of Ministers.
The proposal to create Bueng Kan Province was tabled for about 20 years, until 2010 when the Ministry of Interior renewed the project and made a proposal to the Council of Ministers to have a "Bill Establishing Changwat Bueng Kan, BE..." considered. In a poll at the time, 99 percent of the inhabitants of Nong Khai Province supported the proposal. On 3 August 2010, the Council of Ministers resolved to present the bill to the National Assembly, citing that the proposal met its criteria for approval.
On 7 February 2011, the National Assembly approved the bill. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva presented it to King Bhumibol Adulyadej for royal assent. Bhumibol Adulyadej signed the bill on 11 March 2011, enacting it as the ":s:Act Establishing Changwat Bueng Kan, BE 2554 |Act Establishing Changwat Bueng Kan, BE 2554 ". The act was published in the Government Gazette on 22 March 2011 and came into force the next day.

Economy

Bidding on the construction of the Fifth Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge project is scheduled for July 2020. Construction of the bridge is expected to get started later this year and to be finished by 2023. The project will link Bueng Kan Province with Laos' Bolikhamsai Province across the Mekong River. Its cost will be 1.26 billion baht. Thailand has agreed to pay 787 million baht and Laos to cover 476 million baht. Already existing Thai-Lao Friendship Bridges link Nong Khai Province with Vientiane Prefecture ; Mukdahan with Savannakhet ; Nakhon Phanom with Thakhek ; and Chiang Rai Province with Houayxay.

Provincial seal

The provincial seal of Bueng Kan, Thailand's 76th and newest province, has a depiction of Phu Thok, a mountain in Si Wilai District, an Isan language name which means 'lonely mountain'.
The provincial flower and tree is Bauhinia sirindhorniae K. and S.S. Larsen.

Climate

Bueng Kan’s climate consists of a wet season and a dry season. The temperature decreases during November and is at its lowest in December and January. The temperature quickly increases in March, and peaks in April.

Administrative divisions

Provincial government

The province is divided into eight districts. The districts are further divided into 53 subdistricts and 615 villages.
  1. Mueang Bueng Kan
  2. Phon Charoen
  3. So Phisai
  4. Seka
  5. Pak Khat
  6. Bueng Khong Long
  7. Si Wilai
  8. Bung Khla

    Local government

As of 26 November 2019 there are: one Bueng Kan Provincial Administration Organisation and 18 municipal areas in the province. Bueng Kan has not town status, 41 subdistrict municipalities. The non-municipal areas are administered by 60 Subdistrict Administrative Organisations - SAO.

Human achievement index 2017

Since 2003, United Nations Development Programme in Thailand has tracked progress on human development at sub-national level using the Human achievement index, a composite index covering all the eight key areas of human development. National Economic and Social Development Board has taken over this task since 2017.