Stories tagged with construction
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Phuket escapes global credit crunch
After the 2004 tsunami, the Thai island of Phuket’s real estate boom was stopped dead in its tracks, but in the last year, while many other regions of the world have been adversely affected by the slowdown in the US markets, Phuket’s property prices remain stable, if not on the rise. Many consistently stable regions have followed suit as the US housing market plummeted, but Phuket is reporting rises in its housing market compared to last year.
Director of Tropical Homes Real Estate David Wade says, "The huge difference between Phuket and the rest of the world is there's no finance. So the cash squeeze isn't felt here."
Phuket has escaped the fate of many other high-end regions due to its policies of not giving loans to non-nationals, except of course if a foreigner is married to a Thai. "There are no on-shore loans available to people who want to buy over here. Thai banks will not loan to foreign homeowners. You will not get a loan unless you're married to a Thai," says managing director of Engle & Voelkers Thailand Martin Phillips. So while the Phuket market remains stable, it may yet suffer from the lack of overseas buyers from countries like the US and the UK who are feeling the bite and not as willing to shell out on a second home.
Posted by: DaveB on 12 May 2008, 17:07 -
Phuket set to receive more development
Thailand’s Prime Minister, Samak Sundaravej, has made it clear he intends to sink a lot of money into developing the resort island of Phuket into what he refers to as a paradise. Up to now, the island has not had the money to set in motion various developmental and infrastructure projects to really push Phuket into the realm of a world class tourist destination.
Local authorities on the island commend the Prime Minister for his commitments, but caution that if things are to develop prosperously, the plans and funding must be carefully thought out. PM Samak told an audience of his weekly talk show that he wished to delegate a 15-member board, with 5 members from the national government, 5 from the regional branch and 5 local officials.
Phuket officials complain the island has received insufficient levels of funding to truly bring the island to its full potential.
Posted by: DaveB on 29 Apr 2008, 19:41 -
Samui locals veto new airport
At a public meeting held recently to discuss the possibility of a second airport on the island of Ko Samui, the prospect was all but quelled by locals from Moo 1, 2 and 5 districts, who would be directly influenced by noise pollution. The locals said the airport would cause them nothing but pollution; both through noise and environmental. They used Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi International Airport as an example of how residents’ health can be affected from living so close to an airport, not to mention the natural resources that would be felled to construct the facility.
Public officials high up the food chain admit that due to the size of the island, its ecosystem may not be able to sustain two airports. Proponents of the plan say that if all this is true, then the monopoly by Thai Airways on the existing airport will have to be examined.
Posted by: DaveB on 19 Apr 2008, 18:54 -
Is Samui being stretched to its limits?
The fact that Samui is in a perpetual state of growth is, on the surface, not only no surprise, but easy to expect. There are a vast number of construction projects underway on the island, and provincial administration chief Vichai Srikwhan has voiced his concern that the number may be simply too high to maintain a sustainable Samui for much longer into the future.
Samui’s population is increasing rapidly, and if all the new properties being built sell out as developers hope, it could cause big problems when the island’s infrastructure and resources are pushed to the maximum. Aside from the people registered on the books, Srikhwan says there is also an estimated 150,000 illegals, or non-registered people on the island.
Aside from stressing the resources of the island, which has already said it could face water and electricity shortages in the next few years, such population density could be harmful to the fragile environment that makes Samui such a desirable place to be in the first place.
He stressed to other provincial officials and members of the local business communities to exercise caution when building, to preserve the scenery and protect the remaining forests on the island.
Posted by: DaveB on 26 Mar 2008, 18:15 -
City officials may tear down condo project
Visitors to Bangkok will invariably notice the mass proliferation of condominium projects springing up all over the city. There are so many one may wonder how the local government can keep track of them all. With the latest news from The Pulse condominium project, it seems even some major construction projects can slip under the radar of local officials.
Speaking yesterday, Bangkok deputy governor Banasopit Mekvichai said that the two buildings already well under way at the site of The Pulse could be torn down if it is found the project went ahead without the relevant government-issued building permits.
Mekvichai said that incidents like this can happen when there is a turn-around of regional officials, who can go unbriefed about certain activities in their new jurisdiction. If Prinsiri, Inc is found to be building illegally, the two apartment blocks, nearing completion and containing 154 units in each tower, even being 80% sold, could be torn down.
This is not the first roadblock Prinsiri has faced with the project, as construction was halted last September after Building A was found not to conform to original blueprints.
Posted by: DaveB on 14 Mar 2008, 18:23