Phuket beach properties demolished as land worth THB50bn reclaimed from encroachers
Beachfront buildings on 178 rai in Phuket were demolished on Friday as a four-decade encroachment case ended with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) reclaiming the land.
The prime real estate on Le Phang and Layan beaches was seized from four private companies after the Supreme Court ruled that the land is public property.
The encroachment case was filed by the Thalang district office in 1984. Four private companies who established restaurants, coffee shops and shophouses along Le Phang and Layan beaches in Cherngtalay subdistrict have been fighting the case ever since.
On September 12, the Supreme Court ruled that the 178 rai, estimated to be worth 50 billion baht, is state land and can only be used for public benefit. The court issued a demolition order to remove illegally encroaching buildings from September 30.
On Friday, the DSI and Cherngtalay officials deployed a bulldozer and trucks to remove remaining buildings and debris from the land. The demolition finished on Friday evening with no opposition from the owners.
Manoch Phanchalad, chief of Cherngtalay subdistrict administration organisation, said a budget of 90 million baht has been set aside to turn the land into a beachside public park for locals and tourists.
