TCC snaps up prime Bangkok land plots

The company, which is the property arm of beverage tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, plans to use them for hotel and residential projects.

Due mainly to the country's economic conditions, land prices in prime locations have fallen 10-15 per cent.

Vice president Soammaphat Traisorat yesterday said the company planned to buy two plots, each one of 10-15 rai in the central business district. They are each worth Bt600 million to Bt700 million and will be earmarked for condominium and hotel development.

"We're negotiating with landowners who are now offering prices 10-15 per cent lower than earlier, from an average of Bt300,000 per square wah to between Bt200,000 and Bt250,000, because the state of the economy in the first half of the year has reduced the number of buyers in the market," he said.

Earlier, TCC Land said it would suspend the launch of new projects when faced with a faltering economy. Now, it says, is the time to collect land for the development of new projects, because prices are stable or have fallen from high to reasonable.

"This is a good time to collect land for the development of both residential and hospitality projects around the end of this year and during next year," Soammaphat said.

He said his company and its TCC Capital Land subsidiary planned to launch three new projects in the second half. These will include a condominium and single-detached-house project in Bangkok worth nearly Bt2 billion, to be developed by TCC Capital Land; and a hotel and resort in Bangkok worth almost Bt1 billion that will be developed by TCC Land.

Yesterday, the company signed a 30-year, Bt1.35-billion contract with Univentures to build a luxury hotel near the intersection of Phloenchit and Wireless roads. The company will also spend Bt1.7 billion to decorate and complete the hotel's interior design in 2011 after construction is finished.

TCC Land will pay rental fees from now until the project's completion in 2011, which will represent funds for the project's development.

Univentures will develop 5 rai of land at the intersection as a mixed-use building including offices, a luxury hotel and a condominium. The project will cost about Bt7.5 billion. Of that, Bt4.5 billion will be paid by Univentures and the rest by TCC Land from rental fees and the cost of interior design for the luxury hotel.

Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi's sons, Thapana and Pranot, hold major stakes in Univentures, representing 51-per-cent ownership when combined.

Soammaphat said when the luxury hotel was complete in 2012, the company planned to negotiate with the top five foreign hotel chains for management of it.

"We cannot say who will manage this project, but it will be from among the top five, because this project will be our group's first hotel offering luxury five-star service with a targeted room rate between Bt6,000 and Bt7,000 per night," he said.