Bangkok: BMA Ready To Demolish Luxury Soi Ruamrudee Hotel

[webfact]

BMA to order Soi Ruamrudee hotel demolished

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is ready to demolish a luxury hotel near Soi Ruamrudee because the Pathum Wan district office wrongly certified that the soi is more than 10 metres wide and that construction of tall buildings there was lawful.

Bangkok Deputy Governor Theerachon Manomaiphibool said he had instructed Pathum Wan district chief Phawinee Amartthas to issue an order requiring building owner Larp Prathan Co to demolish the 24-storey The Aetas Hotel immediately, as soon as she received the verdict from the court.

"The district office has the authority to do so on behalf of the Bangkok governor," Theerachon said. "Or, the district office could demolish the hotel at the expense of the owners, who have 30 days to appeal against the verdict.

"The Pathum Wan office was not at fault; rather it was the fault of anyone making a request for the construction." Nonetheless, the BMA will look into the matter and penalise any official, whether at the district office or the BMA's Public Works Department, who certified that the soi is wider than 10 metres, he said.

Former Pathum Wan district office chief Surakiat Limjaroen, now a deputy director of the BMA's Fire and Rescue Department, said he would need to study the verdict before making any comment, but explained that it was the Public Works Department that granted the permit for Larp Prathan to build The Aetas Hotel.

Phawinee said she was ready to issue the demolition order once she received the verdict, but proceeding with the job would depend on whether the firm appealed against the ruling.

Asked why there was no BMA or district office staff present at the court hearing on Thursday, she said the district office was not directly notified by the court, although Larp Prathan, a construction company that built the hotel, had informed it of the scheduled session. BMA spokesman Wasan Meewong had earlier said an appeal would be made against the verdict in principle and that he would provide more details at a later stage.

A legal adviser to the BMA, Sanya Jantharat, said the complainants and BMA officials might have conflicting views on the soi-width issue, adding that he would comment later.

According to a 1992 directive, buildings on sois less than 10 metres wide must be limited to 23 metres - or about seven storeys - in height, or total office space of 10,000 square metres.

A Larp Prathan director, Surachet Wongworrasu, said the hotel's management disagreed with the verdict and would appeal against it. He repeated a company statement that all details relating to construction had been verified, including a written reply from the Pathum Wan district office that Soi Ruamrudee, which is in an area of prime real estate, was more than 10 metres wide, making the construction of the hotel lawful.

"The physical dimensions of the soi vary all the time, as land plots along the soi continually change hands and subsequent encroachment on public areas may reduce the width to less than 10 metres at some points," he said.

Surachet said the BMA should take action against encroachers instead of finding fault with Larp Prathan Co Ltd.

A BMA source said the legal battle between the agency and The Aetas Hotel owner could be lengthy because the firm would simply cite the district office's written certification that the soi was wider than 10 metres in its appeal. More than 20 tall buildings have gone up in and near Soi Ruamrudee in the past 15 years, the source added.

-- The Nation 2012-02-11

[noitom]

One would think that the hotel could easily buy their way out of this. Like every other breach of any regulation or law in Thailand.

[toenail]

Since when have codes of such been followed in Thailand? Think of all the tall buildings in Bangkok that are on small sois. Someone didn't pay their "donation" to a city official.

[chinook]

"The Pathum Wan office was not at fault; rather it was the fault of anyone making a request for the construction."...............Shambolic denials.

[Valentine]

As usual it will be all about the money. Do not expect this hotel to be demolished anytime soon.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The article above is a mess of contradictions...

The BMA dep. gov. says they're ready to order the demolition. But the article yesterday said the BMA planned to appeal the appeals court verdict...and other BMA reps seem to be suggesting the same in today's article.

The dep. gov. says the district office did nothing wrong. But pretty clearly, the district office had to have cleared the construction of the building. And the hotel rep appears to be saying they have written approval from the district office for their construction.

[Digitalbanana]

The article above is a mess of contradictions...

The Nation 'nuff said.

[Javabear]

Some clerk at the district office probably did his job but the higher ups didn't get paid so now they want their tea money.

Edited February 11, 2012 by Javabear

[Pib]

If the BMA issues the demolition order (which I expect they will because they have nothing to lose from doing so) I'm sure the building owner will quickly demolish the building. Ok, Ok, I will adjust my medications.

But maybe on the back of the demolition order written in invisible ink only visible when viewed through a Chang Beer bottle at sunrise will be instructions on where to drop a bag of tea money to make the problem go away.

[marquess]

It is likely that it will go down now as the matter has become too public.

[smutcakes]

If this case had occurred in the past 6 months this thread would be 20 pages by now blaming the corrupt officials of the PTP from the PM all the way down. Surprising that the same people do not find it necessary to post here criticizing AV and his democrat cohorts as to the corruption which was obviously prevalent under the previous administration.

[PoorSucker]

If this case had occurred in the past 6 months this thread would be 20 pages by now blaming the corrupt officials of the PTP from the PM all the way down. Surprising that the same people do not find it necessary to post here criticizing AV and his democrat cohorts as to the corruption which was obviously prevalent under the previous administration.

More than 20 tall buildings have gone up in and near Soi Ruamrudee in the past 15 years

[hellodolly]

If this case had occurred in the past 6 months this thread would be 20 pages by now blaming the corrupt officials of the PTP from the PM all the way down. Surprising that the same people do not find it necessary to post here criticizing AV and his democrat cohorts as to the corruption which was obviously prevalent under the previous administration.

They inherited it from their predecessors. You know the ones who worked for the same guy the present administration works for.

[Credo]

Are you referring to the Military?

[americaninbangkok]

What about the monstrosity that opened a few months ago on the corner of Wireless/Witthayu and Ploenchit? The damned angled walls eat up the entire sidewalk, forcing people to walk in the street at the corner. Was that "within code"... or is that just a big bag of tea money? In any case, it is ugly.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I wondered about that same thing too... You can't walk around the corner on the sidewalk between Wireless and Sukhumvit Rd anymore... The new project there, along with the existing stairs for the cross street walkway, ate up the entire sidewalk access route... How the BMA could approve a design like that is crazy!!!