A new Ao Por ferry pier is on its way to Pa Khlok in Thalang, and it will put Phuket on a sea route across Phang Nga Bay to Koh Yao and Krabi. The Marine Department, the government agency that runs Thailand’s piers and waterways, expects to sign the construction contract by the end of October 2026, with the pier due to open in May 2029.
The Andaman Ring
The pier is the Phuket end of a project the Marine Department calls the Andaman Ring. It links four piers in three provinces into one route: Ao Por in Phuket, Manoh on Koh Yao Noi and Chong Lat on Koh Yao Yai in Phang Nga, and Tha Len in Krabi. The total budget across all four is around 740 million baht.
The idea is simple. Phuket and Krabi face each other across Phang Nga Bay, but the road between them runs all the way round the top of it. Ferries that carry both cars and passengers can cut straight across.
Faster than the drive
Going from Phuket International Airport to Krabi International Airport by road covers about 145 km and takes around 3 hours 30 minutes. The sea route through Ao Por, the Koh Yao islands and Tha Len covers about 97 km and takes around 2 hours. That saves roughly 90 minutes, and swaps a long stretch of highway for a morning on the water.
For anyone living on the north of the island, Ao Por is close to home. It sits about 20 km from the airport, on the quiet east coast of Thalang where longtails and speedboats already leave for Koh Yao and the islands of the bay.
What the new Ao Por pier brings
The Ao Por project is budgeted at 200 million baht. The design shows a long pier running out from the shore to a terminal building with a tiered Thai roof, a drop off area with a small garden and pool, and parking for cars and motorbikes. The far end of the pier is built for ferries, so you can drive on in Phuket and drive off in Krabi.
The first round of bidding closed without a qualified contractor. The work needs a firm registered for the highest grade of marine construction, a specialised category in Thailand. The Marine Department has updated its pricing and reopened the tender, and construction is planned to run for 900 days once the contract is signed.
Two island piers on Koh Yao
The two Koh Yao piers sit in the middle of the route. Manoh, on Koh Yao Noi, has a budget of 175 million baht. Chong Lat, on Koh Yao Yai, has 185 million baht and will handle more than 1,000 visitors a day, with berths for a cargo boat, speedboats and up to 10 longtails.
Both are being rebuilt with new waiting halls, parking and safer landings, and their roofs draw on local architecture so each pier reflects its own island. Koh Yao Noi and Koh Yao Yai are the quiet twin islands between Phuket and Krabi, known for rubber plantations, fishing villages and slow island days, and better piers make them easier to reach.
The Krabi landing at Tha Len
On the Krabi side, the route lands at Tha Len in Khao Thong, about 36 km from Krabi airport and close to the mangroves and limestone of the Krabi coast. The new ferry pier there is budgeted at 120 million baht and includes an adjustable ramp for car ferries.
A new way to move around the Andaman
Once all four piers are open, Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi start to feel like one connected coastline. You will be able to plan a road trip that crosses the bay by boat, add a night on Koh Yao on the way, or reach Krabi airport for an onward flight without the long drive. Ao Por, a small pier best known to locals, is about to become one of the island’s gateways.
