Rebuilding Phuket : Patong’s New Face Unveiled

[britmaveric]

REBUILDING PHUKET : Patong’s new face unveiled

Published on January 13, 2005

TAT-commissioned city plan envisions a cleaner, ‘tsunami-proof’ beachfront

Designed to mitigate natural disasters like tsunamis and look even better than before, the post-tsunami face of Patong Beach was unveiled to officials yesterday at Phuket’s provincial hall.

“It’s a tsunami-free city plan,” said architect Steven Townsend, head of the 12-member team of architects that designed it.

The design includes sand dunes, attractive landscaping, large trees planted at intervals along the beach – to slow down any tsunami – more empty spaces, wider roads and one-way traffic. There will also be a series of towers for people to climb to be able to see monster waves rushing towards the shore, and if need be, they can then run for higher ground, reaching it within minutes.

All electricity and telephone lines and water pipes would go underground.

However, upon being presented with the design, Phuket Governor Udomsak Asavarangura questioned whether the design would conform to Patong’s environment. He pointed out that sand dunes would wash away easily during the annual monsoon.

“Are you sure this could be sustained and not vanish after the first monsoon?” he asked.

The team admitted they had not had time to take into account factors like the monsoon and other weather conditions.

“We had only one week to prepare the plan, and a lot more needs to be done. But it’s a good start for rebuilding Patong,” said Townsend.

The team is from SPA Architectures, which was hired by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) by order of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Cabinet to come up with a design, one of three plans for Phuket’s beaches damaged by the tsunami. The other two plans will be for Kamala and Rawai beaches, said an official.

Patong Beach would be divided into five zones, A to F, each of which would have a slightly different look.

Udomsak and senior TAT officials expressed satisfaction with the design in principle, but took issue with certain aspects.

Apart from the sand dunes, Udomsak also expressed concern about possible economic effects of the proposed one-way traffic system. It could make businesses cluster on only one side of the road, whereas before the tsunami commercial shops could be found on both sides. He asked the architects to consider making adjustments.

The architects also suggested a new one-storey design for buildings along the beach for visual aesthetics, but the governor believes it best to leave the area vacant.

After the plan was presented to the governor, TAT officials and Patong mayor Pian Keesin, they agreed it needs fine-tuning, as does the process for allocating the hundreds of million baht from the central government for the project.

The team divided the project into three phases, with a minimum cost of Bt550 million for debris removal, landscaping and construction, including placing electricity lines underground. However, that does not include the cost of placing telephone lines and water pipes underground.

“All lines should be put underground at the same time, so we don’t have to keep digging up the roads. It would also be more economical. So the government needs to make a decision and allocate a budget soon for putting the other systems underground,” said one architect.

“Once a budget is approved and construction starts, the first phase will take about two months, then another eight for the second phase. So we could see the new face of Patong by December, ready for the tourist high season,” TAT deputy governor Santichai Euachongprasit told The Nation.

The architects say the third phase would be a crafting process to make Patong town more “charming”, with a good architectural design that would include public artworks along the beach. This phase will take more time and does not need to be rushed through.

Pian says his biggest worry was how the plan’s implementation would be accepted among Patong business operators. A senior TAT official agreed that any opposition to it would come from this group, due to potential economic losses.

Pian said: “I’ll invite them to discuss the plan with me, then we can make adjustments. It’s most important that we work together.”

The TAT’s Santichai said that setting an exact deadline for the plan was difficult, but it should be finished in the next two weeks.

In order to inform the public about the plan, he said the final version would be posted at Patong Beach.

Meanwhile, Phuket’s Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO) held a meeting to consider construction of 11 stations around the island that would redirect short-wave signals and prevent another serious communication breakdown like occurred in the aftermath of the tsunami.

“Right after the tsunami, there were no mobile-phone signals, so all communication was cut,” said PAO chairman Anchalee Wanichabut.

However, the idea was not yet approved, due to some members asking to review details and go over technical considerations first.

Anchalee said that if approved, the PAO could immediately allocate a budget of Bt8.8 million, or Bt800,000 per station.

Kamol Sukin

The Nation

Phuket

[Waverider]

Good luck. I live in Phuket, and I see the job they do with the roads. They are going to bury cables and keep them dry from the rain? The electric shock hazard is bad enough as it is, imagine putting those live wires underground. They can't even install sewer gratings properly, the road job they did just last year on Patong beach is a complete mess. Sorry to say this but, unless they hire people who know what they are doing this will never work. Better to keep the cables above ground at least. Before anyone flames me, I worked as an inspector in Canada for roads water mains etc. in Canada in the mid 80's, yes 20 years ago, and I can tell you that Thailand is still 30 years behind if not more. For large infrastructure projects like this, you need to spend the money to get the quality; but as many here know quality is not in the vocabulary here.

Really I hope they do a good job but I have my doubts.

[Waverider]

"However, that does not include the cost of placing telephone lines and water pipes underground."

Just putting waterproof conduits underground in Patong for power is a huge challenge in itself. Impossible in Patong at present IMO. They should spend the money on something else, seriously. Like maybe building some schools and providing some of these kids with an education.

[Kinz]

The power cables shouldn't need conduits. Im not sure on the regulations (if there are any) in Thailand for electricity but as long as its new cable and has no exposed conductors it should be sweet. I think putting it in the ground would make it safer than overhead lines.