Pattaya Awaits Decision on Fate of Controversial Waterfront Condo

[snoop1130]

The abandoned waterfront condo | Photo via Pattaya News/Facebook

 

In Pattaya, the abandoned waterfront condominium at Bali Hai Pier is at the centre of a legal storm, as Mayor Poramet Ngampichet addresses the growing unrest. The condominium's Certificate of Utilisation, issued on land previously classified as unoccupied, has come under scrutiny by the National Anti-Corruption Commission. This revelation has cast doubt on the legitimacy of the building's land title deed.

 

Central to the dispute is the Ministry of Interior’s earlier mandate, declaring the area a restricted zone and forbidding constructions on protected lands under Section 9 (2) of the Land Code. Consequently, the current land title deed could be deemed invalid.

 

 

The Pattaya City is in limbo, eagerly awaiting the Land Department's final verdict on the possible revocation of the land title deed. Should the title be invalidated, the property would revert to public land status, paving the way for its demolition under the Public Land Preservation and Protection Act 2010. Conversely, a valid title means city officials must consider any alteration requests, ensuring adherence to the Building Control Act of 1979.

 

This legal entanglement remains a point of high public interest, with both residents and officials on tenterhooks for a conclusive ruling on this decades-old controversy, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-03-03

 

 

[Geoffggi]

Thia saga has been going on too long, knock this eyesore down & be done with it.

[jacko45k]

36 minutes ago, Geoffggi said:

Thia saga has been going on too long, knock this eyesore down & be done with it.

Yes, started in 2008 and here we are with this mess unresolved. 

[mikebell]

Thai Justice (oxymoron) grinds exceedingly slow commensurate with the amount of baht involved.  16 years and counting (pun intended.)

[PETERTHEEATER]

'Growing unrest'......This has been wrangled over decades. Time for an implosion display.

[RandolphGB]

The only kind of demolition possible for that building is top-down deconstruction. Basically engineers working from the top floor to break down the building piece-by-piece, floor by floor. It doesn't look sturdy or safe enough to get large machinery on top and there would need to be a supporting structure built around it. Thai companies do not have this kind of expertise. It would require a Japanese firm, or at the very least, extensive consultation and a partnership with a Japanese engineering company. The costs would be astronomical and with the amount of scrutiny now involved, no kickbacks for any Thais in positions of authority. In conclusion, nothing is going to happen. 

[henryford1958]

2 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

The only kind of demolition possible for that building is top-down deconstruction. Basically engineers working from the top floor to break down the building piece-by-piece, floor by floor. It doesn't look sturdy or safe enough to get large machinery on top and there would need to be a supporting structure built around it. Thai companies do not have this kind of expertise. It would require a Japanese firm, or at the very least, extensive consultation and a partnership with a Japanese engineering company. The costs would be astronomical and with the amount of scrutiny now involved, no kickbacks for any Thais in positions of authority. In conclusion, nothing is going to happen. 

 

Just get George Bush over with a few pounds of thermite. It will be down in 10 seconds in it's own footprint.

[mfd101]

So who was the lucky owner/builder whose brown envelopes were insufficient to finish the job?

[Lenthai]

It will fall down due to erosion one day if nothing happens

[Thumbs]

Little said about how this dodgy dealing was made possible and the government officials who made it possible, jail time and confiscation of property of anyone found guilty of corruption at the land office so the demolition is not at public expense 

[kingstonkid]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Yes, started in 2008 and here we are with this mess unresolved. 

 

A couple of questions then a solution.

 

1.  Can the land mandate be further pushed to the higher courts if either side loses.

2.  Because this as been sitting there in a sea side (salt air) area so long would it still be sturcturally sound?

 

Solution

 

Why not bring in one of those companies that blow up high buildings? Surely if companies can do a controlled knockdown on the Vegas strip, there are companies that could do the same here. It is not as if there is a lot of buildings or such that would be harmed.

[newnative]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Yes, started in 2008 and here we are with this mess unresolved. 

      Construction started in 2011 and was halted in 2014.   I personally think it is one of the few buildings in Pattaya sporting any interesting architecture and I'd like to see it finished--with perhaps some floors removed to pacify the original protestors--rather than torn down.

[henryford1958]

9 minutes ago, newnative said:

      Construction started in 2011 and was halted in 2014.   I personally think it is one of the few buildings in Pattaya sporting any interesting architecture and I'd like to see it finished--with perhaps some floors removed to pacify the original protestors--rather than torn down.

 

That is the likely result as there will be a few brown envelopes from whoever gets the contract.

[kuzmabruk]

12 minutes ago, newnative said:

      Construction started in 2011 and was halted in 2014.   I personally think it is one of the few buildings in Pattaya sporting any interesting architecture and I'd like to see it finished--with perhaps some floors removed to pacify the original protestors--rather than torn down.

Agreed. Also great location for Pattaya’s first casino

[black tabby12345]

Is it safe for Thailand, to allow the construction of high-rise building on the beach?

Sea-fronted buildings will constantly face salinity; depletion  of construction materials by the contact with salt from the ocean.

[Grumpy one]

28 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

 

A couple of questions then a solution.

 

1.  Can the land mandate be further pushed to the higher courts if either side loses.

2.  Because this as been sitting there in a sea side (salt air) area so long would it still be sturcturally sound?

 

Solution

 

Why not bring in one of those companies that blow up high buildings? Surely if companies can do a controlled knockdown on the Vegas strip, there are companies that could do the same here. It is not as if there is a lot of buildings or such that would be harmed.

I doubt Somchai and friends could do the job without killing themselves and many more.

Just advertise down south, I'm sure Haamed and Abdoul would be eager to show their skills

[bbbbooboo]

hmm… it’s a disgusting eyesore that serves to remind everyone of what goes on in this society. Leave it there until it falls down,it is an embarassment

[Emdog]

1 hour ago, Lenthai said:

It will fall down due to erosion one day if nothing happens

I used to watch lots of "Life after people"... seems what may happen to this eyesore

 

[Patong2021]

59 minutes ago, black tabby12345 said:

Is it safe for Thailand, to allow the construction of high-rise building on the beach?

Sea-fronted buildings will constantly face salinity; depletion  of construction materials by the contact with salt from the ocean.

 

Buildings can be erected close to the beach if maintained and are of  appropriate high quality construction. They are all over the USA Japan, Singapore and EU.

 

And then there was the condo in Surfside, Florida in the Miami  area, on the beach. It wasn't properly maintained and it collapsed  killing 98 people.

[NickyLouie]

Curious if half the money is there already with the foundation/structure in place and it's another 50% to build out i.e install plumbing and run electricity conduits.

 

That ugly <deleted> still has some real potential , regardless of its lack of feng shui 

[black tabby12345]

2 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

 if maintained and are of  appropriate high quality construction...

 

And then there was the condo in Surfside, Florida in the Miam  area, on the beach. It wasn't properly maintained and it collapsed  killing 98 people.

 

Hi, you probably know that Thai construction standard isn't really that high in the first place(so as their maintenance level).

Therefore the same nightmare you quoted might take place in this kingdom as well.

 

Sometime in 1990s, in S/Korea, huge department store collapsed, and it killed over 500.

And that place didn't even have salinity issue...

Sampoong Department Store collapse - Wikipedia

[Purdey]

It doesn't look like it could be renovated. Perhaps just wait until the top falls off and kills some tourists. Let's see how the TAT spins that. 

[Guderian]

The story makes it sound as if Pattaya City Council is just some innocent bystander in all of this, waiting wide-eyed to see what the authorities decide. The reality is rather different.

[JJ-Thailand]

There was a similar story with a half-finished monster building on Patong beach in Phuket many years ago. I don't know how that fiasco ended as I never went back. More money but in other pockets?

[Moonlover]

3 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

The only kind of demolition possible for that building is top-down deconstruction. Basically engineers working from the top floor to break down the building piece-by-piece, floor by floor. It doesn't look sturdy or safe enough to get large machinery on top and there would need to be a supporting structure built around it. Thai companies do not have this kind of expertise. It would require a Japanese firm, or at the very least, extensive consultation and a partnership with a Japanese engineering company. The costs would be astronomical and with the amount of scrutiny now involved, no kickbacks for any Thais in positions of authority. In conclusion, nothing is going to happen. 

I'm quite sure that if they bring the right experts in, that building can be dropped using explosives.

 

Plenty of Demolition videos on Youtube.

[KireB]

4 hours ago, henryford1958 said:

 

Just get George Bush over with a few pounds of thermite. It will be down in 10 seconds in it's own footprint.

Jet fuel alone will melt all the steel beams, there is no need for thermite.  According to the 'official' investigation that is,

 

[Burma Bill]

4 hours ago, mfd101 said:

So who was the lucky owner/builder whose brown envelopes were insufficient to finish the job?

 

For reference  October 11th 2021

 

Yesterday (October 9th), the Bali Hai Construction Company on behalf of the Bali Hai Company Limited, which has previously claimed to be bankrupt due to all the lawsuits surrounding the building, has officially filed a request for re-construction permission from the Pattaya City despite the demolition order, 

 

https://thailand-construction.com/owners-of-the-controversial-waterfront-condo-on-pattayas-bali-hai-pier-ask-for-an-opportunity-to-resume-construction-vs-demolish-the-building/

 

October 9th 2023

 

Itthipol disembarked his flight from Phnom Penh at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 10am and was immediately taken into custody by immigration police.

The former minister is wanted for corruption in construction of the Waterfront Suites and Residences in Pattaya in September 2008...........

Itthipol was culture minister in the second cabinet of former prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and is also the younger brother of former Pattaya mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem. Itthipol, 50, was Pattaya’s mayor when he helped grant permission to Bali Hai Co Ltd for the construction of the Waterfront condo project in September 2008.

 

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40031744

[Satcommlee]

Convert it to public use, re-purpose it for public benefit.

 

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Yes, started in 2008 and here we are with this mess unresolved. 

Wait another ten years..