Construction of Phuket luxury seafront villas halted

PHUKET - Construction of luxury shorefront villas at scenic Cape Krathing on foreland immediately adjacent to the road has been suspended in the face of mounting criticism and sharing of photos on a community Facebook account.

Photo from Facebook Page People’s Voice: Phuket People

Posters on the People’s Voice: Phuket People account raised questions about the legality of the building. They asked why a title deed had been issued for the land and demanded the Phuket governor and the chief of the provincial Land Office provide answers.

The work was suspended on Monday pending a survey by the proper agencies.

Thanakan Thanopajairat, a senior surveyor at the Land Office, said a preliminary check showed title deeds had been issued for the land in question in 2010. The deeds were for four parcels of land totalling almost 31 rai.

The construction site at issue covered about 1.5 rai which the Bangkok owner purchased on Nov 8, 2016, according to reports in Thai media.

Arun Soros, mayor of Rawai municipality, said the construction permit had been granted as the title deed was correct. The owner had approval to build four units at different heights at a required distance back from the sea.

However, the latest survey showed the construction did not conform to the permit, with added non-approved areas. Therefore, the owner must alter the construction to meet the permitted blueprint within 30 days.

Officials from Natural Resources and Environment Office must also examine whether the units could be built there or not.

The Facebook account on Tuesday posted an artist's impression (see below) of the luxury houses planned for there, with two swimming pools, with the credit to Anant Chantamas, who represented the owner.