Riverside businesses sound alarm over promenade project

THE TOURISM sector is worried the Chao Phraya Riverside Promenade Project will have adverse impacts on the local economy and local business owners are concerned that the plan would degrade the scenery and charm of the river and affect the number of visitors to the city.
The River Assembly (RA) on Tuesday hosted a meeting with key business owners at a site near the Chao Phraya River to discuss how to cope with possible impacts from the promenade project. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) intends to open bidding for the project next month, with construction slated to begin in June.
David Robinson, director of the high-end hotels partnership Bangkok River Partners, said business owners operating on the banks of the river were very nervous about the economic impacts that may affect them when the project is completed because of changes to the scenery and the public’s connection to the river.
“What we are worrying about is that the promenade will disconnect our businesses from the river and our ‘riverside’ hotels will not be ‘riverside’ hotels anymore, which will destroy the identity of our businesses,” Robinson said.
“The scale of the impact will be gigantic. In Klong San district alone, there are around 5,000 rooms in luxury hotels by the river, which can be sold for a high value. The negative impact from the promenade project will be so enormous that I cannot predict it.”
The BMA has stated that the first phase of the promenade project will be 14 kilometres long, running from Rama VII Bridge to Phra Pinklao Bridge. The total 57km-long promenade project will affect hotels and businesses along the river, which have been estimated to generate revenues of up to Bt100 billion per year.
According to the Thai Hotel Association, business along the Chao Phraya River banks could grow fivefold next year, as from 2016 to 2018 approximately Bt150 billion in new investment from private sector will go to hotels on the river to attract tourists.
Robinson said there are two major attractions in Bangkok that foreign tourists visit: Ratchaprasong shopping district and the Chao Phraya River, but the promenade project would destroy the charm of the river and jeopardise Bangkok tourism.
“There were 32 million tourists visiting Bangkok last year and we estimate that the number of tourists will increase to 50 million this year. These tourists come to Bangkok to explore the unique culture and scenery of Bangkok, and they go to the Chao Phraya River for cultural sightseeing,” he said.
“We are not selfish and we also support the development on the Chao Phraya River, but we need development that benefits all stakeholders, provides a clean and safe environment, and preserves the cultural roots of the area, so we can thrive together.”
Prominent architect Duangrit Bunnag said negative impacts on businesses along the river would be unavoidable, adding that there still had not been a study on the impacts of the promenade project on the business sector.
“There is no economic impact assessment at all on the project, so we do not know exactly how much the business sector will lose from the construction of the controversial promenade. The study team also did not even ask tourists their opinion about development on the river and what kind of scenery they wanted to see on the river,” Duangrit said.
He also raised speculation about the final draft of the promenade plan – which a King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) study team submitted to the BMA last September – saying it could differ from the plan that the KMITL team showed the public.
“I have asked the BMA to disclose the final plan of the promenade, but they refused, saying the plan was confidential. I am wondering if the final promenade plan is to allow authorities to convert it into a highway in the future, so it is crucial for us to see the final plan before construction begins within the next four months,” he said.