Pattaya Master Plan Excites Investors

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Pattaya Master Plan Excites Investors

Pattaya City unveiled the tourism-related, master plan for sustainable, Eco development. The plan calls for 15 billion baht in local infrastructure improvements bringing addition capital to contractors and workers in Pattaya and Chonburi. The project encompasses 132 projects designed to turn Pattaya City, Asia's leading beach resort, into an evolved, world-class, "greenovative" tourism city by 2017.

Pattaya City planers have been growing in expertise and innovative ideas to the point where implementation of the massive overhaul geared toward Green tourism needs bigger guns. A public company, Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta),has been hired to decide which elements of the Master Plan should be implemented, delayed or scrapped all together. There is also room for new ideas as the project is in the design stage now.

A major investment firm executive which asked not to be identified said the property values in Pattaya will skyrocket in the next few years as the missing element of improvement is conducted by an outside company. Politics and elections have in the past clouded that missing element: planning.

Mayor of Pattaya City Itthiphol Kunplome said, "The takeover by Dasta will change the image of Pattaya as well as improve the cooperation between the business and government sectors. Mega-projects will be completed sooner and be more faithful to the blueprint."

Thiti Chantangphol, director of planning and coordination of Dasta said yesterday that the master plan was being revised to respond to local preferences and would put on hold or eliminated unpopular aspects of the plan like the proposed monorail, which many citizens have protested its expense. The withdrawal of the monorail plan will not affect the Thailand World Expo in 10 years, Thiti said.

Over the next six months new zoning sectors for the city with defined areas for entertainment, seminars, natural tourism and other uses will be drawn.

The next phase will improve wastewater management and beach recovery to create a sustainable travel destination, giving Pattaya a new all-around image as an active, sports-related beach destination.

By 2017, tourism will be contributing 300 billion billion baht a year to Pattaya's economy, up from 60 billion baht in 2009, as visitor arrivals increase from 7 million to 30 million and the average stay of 3 days increases to 7-10 days. Pattaya alone will then attract 10 per cent of the country's tourism revenue.

By 2030, 320 rai (about 51 hectares) of Koh Lan (Coral Island), off the coast of Pattaya, will be open to bidding for building and managing three hotels. The hotel concessions will run 30 years.

Dasta will also look to launch Koh Phai, between Koh Lan and Pattaya, as another island attraction.

In 10 years' time, if nothing were done, Pattaya would face many problems such as tap-water shortages, mafia control and traffic congestion, analysts say. During the past five years, the number of tourists has dropped by nine per cent, which led to lost revenue for both the country and the tourism industry, Thiti said.

Source: http://pattaya-times.com/a6686-pattaya-master-plan-excites-investors

-- Pattaya Times 2010-12-29

[LennyW]

Anyone know where to find a definitive list of the "132" projects?

[saintofsilence]

could be on the Dasta site but i don't see it.

http://www.dasta.or.th/en/about/about.php