Condo prices ‘to rise’ in 2017 once new energy act come into effect

 
“If the act force for property devel?opers have to build energy-saving building for condominium projects that have using space from 10,000 square metres and over, this will increase con?struction cost that will boost condo?minium price rising,” Pruksa Real Estate Plc’s president for premium mar?ket Prasert Taedullayasatit said at inter?view with the Nation recently.
“We cannot estimate how much the price rising that is depend on the ener?gy-saving standard but it will effect for low and middle market than premium market, who have purchasing power to pay,” he added.
Early this week, Praphon Wongtharua, director-general of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department of Energy Ministry said that the department will speed up to promote energy-saving building policy by corporate with Interior Ministry to revise the building act by force the building that has using space from 10,000 square metres and over, which is the both new building that apply to build and existing build?ing that plan to renovate, have to have energy saving program under Building Energy Code (BEC) standard.
The building will cover nine build?ing type included hospital, school or university, office, condominium, hotel, shopping center, theater, hospitality building, and auditorium.
“We believe that the act will effective within the mid of the year 2017,” Praphon said.
Meanwhile, the department also will expand energy-saving building under concept to the both new building and existing building, which plans to reno?vate, that has using space from 2,000 square meters and over under Building Energy Code (BEC) standard in the year 2022, he said.
According to Energy Efficiency Plan 2015 (EEP2015) that cover the year 2015 till the year 2036, the new build?ing and existing building, which plan to renovate, that has using space from 10,000 square metres and over in the year 2017 have to design under BEC standard, the next step in the year 2019 will cover building space from 5,000 and over, and the year 2022 will cover building space from 2,000 and over. The act will cover the both private and public building.
Currently, the department collabo?rates with property developer firms to develop and design energy-saving building, for example collaborates with LPN Development Plc to design ener?gy-saving building for the both existing building and new projects under, LPN Green Design, Praphon added.
LPN Development Plc’s managing director Opas Sripayak said that the company starts to corporate with Energy Ministry to redesign its exist?ing building under energy-saving building on the mid of this year and already to send its two existing condo?minium projects to Energy Ministry considering how to redesign to be ener?gy saving building. 
As the new condominium projects in the next year also will collaborate with Energy Ministry to design its new building under energy-saving building concept.
“We discuss with Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department of Energy Ministry that if we redesign our projects under energy saving building concept that has not increased our construction cost. If con?struction cost rising under energy sav?ing building, that will effect for our cus?tomers who have to pay high price to buy our condominium projects. If the department can suggest the way to design under energy saving building under the same cost for normal build?ing that will better for our customers to get the energy saving building at the same price of normal building,” he said.
He added that this is difficult to design energy-saving building with low-construction cost because of cur?rently green construction raw materi?als still have high price than standard construction raw material. As a result that will effect with the construction cost when the company wants to build energy saving building.
However, if the Energy Ministry forces to build energy-saving building following the revised building act, it has to offer the incentive for developers who build energy-saving building such as added Floor Ratio Area (FRA) that will match with the cost rising, he said.
Although the energy-saving act is going on the process, but most of con?dominium, office building, hotel, shop?ping center, and etc also designs under green concept.
They are including ’98 Wireless’ lux?ury condominium project by Sansiri Plc, ‘Super Tower’ by Grand Canal Land Plc, Park Venture Ecoplex by Univenture Plc, Energy Complex owns by Energy Complex Co Ltd, a subsidiary of PTT Plc, and etc
According to Thai Green Building Institute, 127 building projects in Thailand apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design from US Green Building Council from the year 2007 as of October 31, 2016, 71 projects of total got the certification from US Green Building Council.