Phu Kradueng cable car will reduce deaths, attract tourists, say locals

The group had also gathered to welcome Deputy PM Phumtham Wechayachai on Saturday, who is on a two-day working visit to the Northeast province.

Phumtham, who also holds the Commerce portfolio, is scheduled to discuss the controversial project with local officials and businesspeople.

Phu Kradueng district chief Phuriwat Chotnopparat, meanwhile, said on Saturday that he believed “100% of the district’s residents” want the cable car system to be built.

“It’s time now for Phu Kradueng National Park to have a cable car,” he said, adding that it would attract more tourists to the national park.

“We have faced a decline in tourists and someone dies there every year,” he said referring to people with health problems losing their lives while trying to tackle the difficult trek.

“The cable car would serve as an important tool to draw more tourists to Phu Kradueng and adjacent districts, Also, tourists will have a happy experience,” Phuriwat said.

Currently, the only way for tourists to reach Phu Kradueng’s scenic top plateau is by trekking. The natural trail from the foot of the mountain to its top is 9 kilometres long and it takes trekkers an average of three hours to arrive at the nearest camping site.

The mountain’s highest elevation is 1,316 metres (4,318 feet).

Phu Kradueng is advertised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand as “a trail every trekker must take once in their life and conquer the most beautiful yet brutal mountain in Thailand”.

There have been calls for a cable car but the proposal has met resistance from environmental activists. Many have aired concerns about the cable car system harming the mountain’s ecosystem.

However, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s government recently revived the controversial plan, though it hit a snag last month when the Cabinet held off on approving the project pending further study.

Phumtham said on Saturday that both supporters and opponents of the cable car project need to settle their differences to prevent any problems in the future.

“Let us hear the minority’s voice as well, even though most people here want the cable car,” the veteran politician told the gathering of local residents on Saturday.

He said the government has earmarked 28 million baht for the study and design of the project. The minister also said that he met the locals to hear their opinions and promised to push for a solution as soon as possible.

The deputy PM added that the previous government had faced similar problems with projects deemed controversial. For instance, he said, it took more than 40 years before Bangkok’s main international airport, Suvarnabhumi, could be constructed.