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Published on September 14, 2007

Bangkok Horizon may seem like an oddity among the scores of new residential condominiums launched recently. Unlike its rivals, which are all being built near a BTS Skytrain or MTR subway station, this project does not even have an expressway connection.

But in many ways, it is one of the more protected areas in Bangkok, less spoilt and more tranquil than most sites. The outer Ramkhamhaeng area has not been badly savaged by speculation and prices here are generally within the sphere of sanity.

The Soi 60 location is actually ideal for people who care little for places that are ruined by packed and noisy, congested neighbourhoods.

In recent years, this location has been spared the sharp drop in the quality of life at many suburbs along Sukhumvit: Ekamai, Onnuj, Phra Khanong and Udomsuk being the more pronounced.

Here the traffic jams are never quite as brutal and the pollution levels never quite match those in the inner city.

While Ramkhamhaeng was considered an extremely overbuilt area in the Eighties, this densely populated area - largely populated by students attending Ramkhamhaeng University and nearby campuses - is now less hectic than Sukhumvit or Rachadaphisek, two sites where most new condominiums are flaunted.

Bangkok Horizon, with 37 floors and 586 freehold apartments, is luring buyers with its starting price of Bt1.2 million for a 30-square-metre unit. The  floor space on the lower floors sell from Bt42,000 per square metre.

A visit to the site, which has three mock-up units for viewing, will reveal the layout to these units. At first glance, the smaller units may appear rather uninspiring but the good news is they come partially furnished. In short, the buyers can do a better job decorating the unit.

The one unit that stands out is the two-bedroom apartment, which looks far better thought out than the smaller units.

Covering about 80 square metres, it has plenty of windows and a fair amount of balcony space, as well as decent-size living rooms.

Its master bedroom is inviting and comes connected to a large bathroom that has a good-sized bathtub.

The price of the bigger unit is Bt3.9 million, which is about the same as a detached home in the outer suburbs near to Ramkhamhaeng.

But as quality high-rise condominiums in this part of town are difficult to find, Bangkok Horizon is in an ideal position to charge a premium in this area.

The tower rises on a podium, which contains eight floors of car parking.

Atop the car park is the large common area, which has a swimming pool and other amenities.

The project is charging Bt300 a square metre for monthly maintenance, with another Bt500 a square metre for its sinking fund.

The project expects a new commuter line - the Airport Link - to arrive sometime in the future. But as the Skytrain project took more than 30 years to turn into reality after its inception in the Seventies, buyers should anticipate the likelihood of delays for most state-backed infrastructure projects.

Itthi C Tan

The Nation