Developers eager to bid for four huge landmark projects

Original plans for development of the sites have been delayed since 2009.

The four plots are: 223 rai (35.6 hectares) at Khlong Toei Port, near Rama IV Road, on land owned by the Port Authority of Thailand; 490 rai in the Makkasan area, close to the Airport Link rail station and owned by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT); 63 rai in the Mo Chit area, near the BTS Skytrain’s Mo Chit station on land owned by the Treasury Department; and 277 rai close to the MRT Mae Nam station, owned by the SRT and located near to the Chao Phraya River in the stretch from Khlong Toei to Rama III.

According to the master plan, more than Bt500 billion will |be required to develop these locations and turn them into an |

overall new landmark area, |once the government gives the go-ahead.

Among the developers interested in bidding for the projects are Singha Estate, which is owned by the Bhirombhakdi family, TCC Land Group, owned by the Siriwattanabhakdi family, and Central Pattana Group, owned by the Chirathivat family.

CB Richard Ellis Thailand managing director Aliwassa Pathnadabutr said that if work on developing all four locations were to be undertaken, they would become new landmark business-district destinations in the capital, at a time when land in CBDs such as Silom and Sathorn was now fully occupied.

Thai Condominium Association president Prasert Taedullayasatit, who is also managing director for condominiums at Pruksa Real Estate, said that once the official green light was given and construction eventually completed, the four areas would change the face of Bangkok and provide new landmarks for tourists in Asean, because the development theme would be to combine green areas and commercial areas.

This would add to the value of land around the projects, and also boost investment from both the public and private sectors, he said.

"We have been waiting to see the projects commence development in the four areas for more than five years, since the state agencies first announced their plans.

"But the whole thing has been delayed until now," he added.

SRT debt restructuring

Deputy Finance Minister Wisut Srisuphan said earlier that the Finance Ministry would negotiate with the SRT to transfer 490 rai of its 700-rai land area in Makkasan district in order to restructure the state enterprise’s debt.

SRT debt currently stands at Bt110 billion, with Bt80 billion of the total managed by the Finance Ministry.

If the negotiations prove successful, the ministry plans to develop the 490 rai into a new landmark area by turning it into a green park, drainage area, and mixed-use building combining office, retail and residential space by opening bidding for the private sector to develop the commercial area, he said.

The SRT earlier planned to develop the Makkasan area into a Makkasan Complex at a cost of more than Bt200 billion.

"We plan to complete the negotiating process [with the SRT] within the first half of this year, |and then will kick off the plan to develop the Makkasan area," said Wisut.

Meanwhile, the SRT is studying a plan to develop 277 rai at Mae Nam station close to the Chao Phraya in Yan Nawa’s Chong Nonsi sub-district – from Khlong Toei to Rama III – in the form of an extensive mixed-use project worth over Bt100 billion, said Ormsin Chivapruck, chairman of the state enterprise.

The project would tie in with the government policy to develop 14 kilometres of river frontage as landmark land at the heart of Bangkok, he said.

The master plan entails developing the land around Mae Nam station into a combined green area and commercial buildings, he added.

As for the 63 rai of land at Mo Chit, the Treasury Department – part of the Finance Ministry – is studying development of a Bt50-billion complex that was initially designed 10 years ago, following the development of the Skytrain network.

The delayed project will be open to bidding from the private sector, but is subject to ongoing study as it is a project valued at more Bt5 billion, which must be financed and developed in accordance with the public-private partnership law.

The current master plan to develop the Mo Chit Complex involves creating overall space of 900,000 square metres, separated into a shopping centre, education centre, offices, a hotel and residential space.

Meanwhile, under the master plan, the 223 rai of land in Khlong Toei Port will also be developed |as a mixed-use project, with an office building, logistics and warehouse facilities, and a shopping complex.

The more than Bt100-billion project has been in the offing since 2010, but development has been delayed due to opposition from the tenants at Khlong Toei market.

Despite this problem, the plan remains part of the port’s business strategy.