Condo's permit may be scrapped

THE CENTRAL Administrative Court may scrap EIA and construction permit for a Bt2.8-billion condominium project in Bangkok’s Lak Si district next month in response to a complaint from long-time residents in the area.
The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on February 13.
Stop Global Warming Association (SGWA) president Srisuwan Janya voiced hope yesterday that the court would scrap the construction and the EIA on grounds that the commissioner of justice in the case had suggested the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project was illegitimate.
Last Thursday, Justice commissioner Sathiwen Thivthong said that the EIA had listened to the opinion of people living more than 1,000 metres away from the project site, not those living directly around the project.
“So, the EIA is against Article 5 of the National Health Act of BE 2550,” Sathiwen said.
This project, Aspire Condo 28, is located on Soi Chinnaket in northern Bangkok. Construction has been suspended since 2012 after debris – including a 10kg steel object – repeatedly fell on nearby homes causing property damage.
Locals have also complained of dust particles and disturbing vibrations in their neighbourhood.
Finally, 39 Soi Chinnaket residents in collaboration with the SGWA petitioned the Central Administrative Court.
The project is managed by a subsidiary of AP (Thailand).
AP (Thailand) stopped selling units in the Aspire Condo 28 project in 2013. If the project goes ahead, it will have 1,458 residential units. Some 45 per cent of them had been booked at the time opposition from the project’s neighbours became public.
As of now, AP (Thailand) has returned deposits to most buyers. Only 15 per cent of the project’s units are still booked.
AP (Thailand) chief marketing officer Vittakarn Chandavimol insisted yesterday the EIA was properly conducted, saying people living within a 500-metre radius of the project site had been consulted. Legal requirements allow up to a one-km radius.
Vittakarn said his firm would react to the Central Administrative Court’s moves step by step.
“For the time being, we will wait and see. The verdict will come out on February 13,” he said.
He said the verdict could be different from Sathiwen’s statement.
“Only after the verdict really comes out, can we decide if we will take any action like lodging an appeal to the Supreme Administration Court,” he said.
Also accused in the case are senior officials of the Lak Si District Office, Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, and a panel of experts on EIA for buildings, land allocation and community service.
When he read out a statement on the case last Friday, Sathiwen said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration should be ordered to pay Bt68,900 to each complainant.
The amount shall be subject to 7.5-per-cent interest rate calculated from May 23, 2011 until the case became final.
Srisuwan believed the case would set a precedent by requiring the BMA and other local administrative bodies to check on the construction of high-rise buildings in their areas to determine if they violate the rights of locals.
“SGWA will take action against many more offending condo projects,” he said.