Pattaya Today 1
Vol. 9 No. 04 ď ´ 1 - 15 November 2009
Volume 9, Issue 04
1 - 15 November 2009
End in Sight for Jomtien Second Road Construction
The ongoing saga of the construction work being carried out on Jomtien Second Road will not be completed by the end of this year, as stated in the contract, but will carry on well into 2010. This is proving to be a nightmare for local residents, and in fact, anyone who has to go anywhere near the area. The idea behind the original plans for the Jomtien Project was to ease the traffic flow to the area and offer both local residents and visiting tourists a convenient alternative to the existing routes, and considerable ease traffic flow. The original deal was authorised by Khun Aphichart Phuetphan, Deputy Chief of Pattaya City Hall, Mrs.
Thaweelarp Sumetamarat, Director of the Bureau of Finance, and the Sultan of Technology Company as far back as June 2005. The new road project was part of the original plans to ease traffic flow around the city which was instigated in 1988. The construction project, which began way back in 2005, and as we said was due to be finished by the end of the present year, covers an area which includes the junction on Pattaya Third Road, passing through the Jomtien Curve, out of the back of Jomtien’s local road, through Chaiyapruek, before joining up and
connecting to the Sukhumvit Road. The project is 7.5Km in length and 30 metres wide, will accommodate six lanes of 3.5 metre width and incorporate two footpaths and drainage capabilities. There will be a central reservation along the whole length and will have the full range of traffic signals. Back in 2008 many businesses along the route felt the effects of the new project as over 500 people were contacted to give land to the government so the
project could proceed. In excess of 12.4 million baht has already been paid out in compensation to these individuals. However, after looking into the details of compensation in more detail, it has been revealed that many of the calculations are incorrect, some because their land had been converted for real estate construction and had a higher value, and other people who were paid out for illegal buildings that had been built on public land. The problems and delays that the wrong
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compensation payments have created have made it impossible for work to be completed on schedule. Recently local residents and businesses in the area have demanded that the authorities speed up the construction, in its present state, the road is worse than it has ever been, which has led to dreadful delays, massive amounts of dust, and flooding when it rains. This is having a negative result on the daily lives of the residents and business owners and many of them, who have to deal with the fiasco on a daily basis, are getting to the end of their patience. Authorities have apologised for the delay and assured them that the Continued on page 6