Asiatique The Riverside expands into 10-year mega
Riverside Masterplan, part of TCC Group, which is owned by business tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, plans to complete its Asiatique The Riverfront project on 70 rai over the next decade, creating one of the world's major tourist attractions.
The project, combining a retail theme with a historic architectural landscape, will cost more than Bt10 billion in total.
It will be developed phase by phase, with each stage also dependent on the prevailing economic situation, Napat Charoenkul, the company’s project director, said yesterday.
Asiatique will eventually include a multifunctional building for convention and event-organising purposes, hotels and amusement facilities.
The company plans to build two hotels on the site, one three-star and the other four-star, with 700-800 rooms combined. The hotels will cost between Bt2 billion and Bt3 billion each.
The project’s expansion stems from the overwhelming response of visitors to Asiatique after the official launch of the initial phase four months ago, he added.
Located on a 28-rai (4.5-hectare) plot on Charoen Krung Road on the banks of the Chao Phraya, initial-phase construction cost Bt900 million. During the four-month period, it has attracted more than 2.4 million visitors, 90 per cent of them Thais.
Napat said the firm was putting a huge effort into promoting Asiatique as a major man-made project recognised regionally and able to compete with attractions in Singapore.
Riverside Masterplan has undertaken an international roadshow to China, Japan, India and Europe in a joint operation with the Tourism Authority of Thailand and travel agencies. The goal is to increase the number of foreign tourists visiting the project to 50 per cent of the total.
He said foreign investors from Singapore and China had approached the company about launching Asiatique in their countries. However, it is too early to do so, he added.
Some 20,000 people visit Asiatique on weekdays, and between 50,000 and 60,000 over the weekend. The numbers far exceed the company’s original expectation of 10,000 on weekdays and 20,000 at the weekend.
Riverside Masterplan expects sales revenue of Bt250 million this year. Operating costs will use up 40 per cent of that income.
Over the next three years, revenue is forecast to rise to Bt360 million, with operating costs falling to 30 per cent, the project director said.
