The Metropolitan Electricity Authority on Wednesday began boring the country's longest biggest tunnel for underground wiring, with completion planned in less than three years.
The tunnel-boring machine, also known as a "mole", was activated at the MEA's office in Ploenchit area by MEA assistant governor Thepsak Thitaraksa.
He said the 878-million-baht project was to bore a 1.3-kilometre-long tunnel, 3.6 metres in diameter, about 40 metres underground from Chidlom area to Ploenchit Road.
The tunnel will eventually be the conduit for the extension of underground wiring to serve the power demands of inner Bangkok's commercial areas.
It would ensure a secure power supply in inner business districts, improve Bangkok's landscape and eliminate the physical risks posed by conventional wiring above the ground, Mr Thepsak said.
The new tunnel will join an existing tunnel, 2.6 metres in diameter, running about seven kilometres from Bang Kapi to Chidlom, and is due for completion in 2020.
