Treasury Department defends observation tower project

[rooster59]

Treasury Department defends observation tower project

By The Nation

 

 

The director general of the Treasury Department has defended the Bangkok observation tower project after critics raised concerns over transparency of the 459-metre tall tower.

 

Patchara Anuntasilpa said yesterday that the department had planned to develop its 4.2 rai land plot on the banks of the Chao Phraya River to |honour the late King Bhumibol. 

 

The department did not need to contribute financially to the project because the private groups planned to invest Bt4.62 billion to build the Unity Tower. 

 

The department responded to criticism that the Siam Piwat Group, which is developing a residence and shopping complex called Icon Siam, has a vested interest in the project. 

 

Critics expressed concern that the sites of the Icon Siam and the tower are next to each other and a board director of the Siam Piwat Group is also an executive of the foundation behind the tower. 

 

Patchara said Cabinet approved the project in December. The tower is part of government efforts to promote sustainable development and co-operation between the government and the people. 

 

Earlier this year, the Public-Private Partnership Committee asked Cabinet to bypass the normal open bidding process to pick a private organisation for the project. 

 

On June 27, the Cabinet gave the green light for constructing and |management of the tower without competitive bidding. Revenue after expenses from the tower will be used to support the public projects, said Patchara. 

 

The department said the project was not commercial, so there would be no collusion between private groups and the public sector as critics fear.

The tower will be a new landmark for the country’s tourism industry as it will be a symbol of a ‘new global |destination’, according to the Treasury Department. 

 

The department will get a land lease fee worth Bt400,000 per year and the lease fee will increase 15 per cent every five years for the 30-year land lease contract. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30319592

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-07-01

[trogers]

The land value of that 4.2 rai is 3.3b baht. At 3% annual returns, the land rent should be 100m baht per year. Not 400,000 baht!

 

Do they have calculators at the Treasury dept?

[cmsally]

And "pray tell me", how does a 459 metre tower promote sustainable development?

[Smarter Than You]

5 minutes ago, cmsally said:

And "pray tell me", how does a 459 metre tower promote sustainable development?

It sustains the development of the bank accounts of the well connected.

[starky]

Well now they have gone and name dropped pretty much makes this whole deal become unmentionable.  Having said that though is it a memorial or a bloody shopping centre 

Edited July 1, 2017 by starky

[ezflip]

17 minutes ago, starky said:

...is it a memorial or a bloody shopping centre 

Is bloody useless is what it is. If you're going to build a tower, might as well make it one of the tallest and be in the top 10.

 

What I don't get is how they are going to accomplish this in a swampy region.

[fforest1]

The Rama IX Super Tower that is being built now in Bangkok will be 615m tall and will be completed in 2021...

 

This observation tower will be 459m and will take 3-4 years to build...And will be obsolete just in time for the opening ceremonies...  

 

So if I was planning to spend 750 baht on a observation tower in Bangkok (which I am not

because there would not be much to see)

I would definitely choose the Rama IX Super Tower.

 

Has even one person here when flying into Bangkok looked out the window and thought

what a beautiful city?

Edited July 1, 2017 by fforest1

[trogers]

42 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

The Rama IX Super Tower that is being built now in Bangkok will be 615m tall and will be completed in 2021...

 

This observation tower will be 459m and will take 3-4 years to build...And will be obsolete just in time for the opening ceremonies...  

 

So if I was planning to spend 750 baht on a observation tower in Bangkok (which I am not

because there would not be much to see)

I would definitely choose the Rama IX Super Tower.

 

Has even one person here when flying into Bangkok looked out the window and thought

what a beautiful city?

Naahh...you cannot see the splendor of the flooded plains as Chaophraya overflows, at Rama IX...

Edited July 1, 2017 by trogers

[Cadbury]

I hope the engineers on this project are right on their game. I don't know much about engineering but I would have though building a 459 metre tower on the silt beds beside a river might have some risk element.

Later when the time comes they better make sure the phone operator is on duty for that brainwave emergency hotline they created some time back called........... "Building About to Fall Down". 

[clockman]

As the last finance minister, said. White lies are ok!