Ao Phuket project given top-level green light

Rajathin Syamananda, who heads Dasta's Ao Phuket project committee, is well acquainted with the project as a former director-general of the Interior Ministry's Town and Country Planning Department.

Allowing Dasta to develop the project meant it could be fast-tracked, he said. "As we have full authority from the government, we can pass the project proposal on for Cabinet approval much more easily," said Rajathin.

Dasta is a public organisation under the direction of the Tourism and Sports Ministry, established in 2005 under the Thaksin Shinawatra government.

The Bt100-billion development plan will cover 3,000 rai of reclaimed land that will include a convention centre, marina and other facilities. The latest movement in the plan, first conceived more than two decades ago, follows from Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's assigning responsibility for the project to Dasta.

Before the Ao Phuket project was put on hold following the coup, responsibility for it fell to the Town and Country Planning Department, who put a Bt63.5-billion price tag on the designs it drew up.

That plan in many regards resembled a spectacular Bt130-billion plan put forward for the project in 2005 by Japanese construction specialist Umezawa Tadao - except that the Japanese design called for a "floating city", not one on reclaimed land.

"The most important aspect of this development will be environmental and natural resource conservation and ensuring that it improves the lives of local people," Rajathin said.

Extensive land reclamation in the shallow Phuket Bay, into which most of the wastewater from Muang and Kathu districts flows, would not impede drainage there, he said.

Other infrastructure aspects including traffic, wastewater treatment and power supply need have been carefully considered, he added.

Rajathin is confident that the Town and Country Planning Department's plan, if allowed to go forward under Dasta's management, would attract a good deal of foreign investment and benefit both Phuket and Thailand.

Dasta's role will be to coordinate the efforts of the many government agencies involved and present the project to potential investors.

"Now that Dasta is fully authorised to lead the project, it will not fail again. We will work as quickly as possible to iron out all the legal and investment issues," he said.

The Dasta committee will re-evaluate the plan put forward by the previous committee in light of changing conditions, he said.

Not expected to change would be the project's two main attractions: a marina and facilities for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, or MICE.

On the economic front, Rajathin said the original cost estimate of Bt63.5 billion when the plans were drawn up might no longer be practical.

To begin, an initial budget of Bt4.9 billion would be needed from the government. The project could generate Bt19.5 billion in revenue annually once it is completed, he said.