Yin Yom beach is quiet
during the low season, prompting local vendors to ask the city to do
something to stimulate tourism.
Jetsada Homklin
Parks, playgrounds and a bike lane top the list of improvements
Pattaya is planning for its 600 million baht renovation of Jomtien
Beach.
Patterned after the facelift underway on Pattaya Beach, the Jomtien
makeover still is a long way from reality. Designs are still being drawn
and a budget request has yet to be made. With the beachfront facing
similar erosion problems to what has occurred in Pattaya, residents and
tourists have to hope the money comes through soon.
Pattaya engineering and construction chief Sunthorn Sompamai said the
four-phase project covers the beachfront from Dongtan Beach to the
border with Najomtien Sub-district. The emphasis for the project is on
facilitating recreation.
The main changes will be the modification of the footpaths, with trees
and flowers planted, as well as construction of lane for runners and
bikers, a recreation park, water activities park, public-use building,
children’s playground, a park for the elderly and a new pavilion at
Pratamnak Hill’s Yim Yom Beach.
Workers from the city Environment Department cleared the abandoned
pavilion on that beach July 10, then filled in holes left behind and
others caused by beach erosion. The removal came more than a year after
the pavilion was damaged by a storm.
Beach vendor Ampol Chalao, 47, said he was happy to see the beach
cleared, even if a new viewing point won’t be built for a while.
“Personally, I hope Pattaya will make improvements and construct a new
pavilion because this is one of the most beautiful viewpoints in the
city and I wish it to remain so,” he said.
