Jomtien Beach business owners have asked the city to give them a say in the shoreline’s ongoing facelift.
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Advisor to the Jomtien Beach Free Zone Operators Sretapol Boonsawat – who also is the head of the Pattaya Legal Affairs Department – presented a letter from 157 businesses and vendors to Mayor Anan Charoenchasri Oct. 4 asking that they participate in the landscape redesign.
Sretapol argued that the project was initiated by Pattaya’s former leaders and that was begun without any public hearings. Business owners complained they never saw design plans in advance and had no input on impacts to either the environment or their businesses.
The 115-million-baht “free zone” section of the 600-million-baht Jomtien Beach overhaul is broken into two phases, the first from the Dongtan curve to Welcome World Beach Resort and Spa and wrapped up Sept. 15.
The 250-meter second phase runs from the hotel to the Dongtan police booth. It began in mid-September and is scheduled for completion in January.
The business sector’s main gripe is the extension of a road along the beach and installation of drainage pipes and underground utility lines.
Anan acknowledged the business owners’ concerns and said he understood their desire to participate in the project, but stopped short of immediately scheduling any hearings.
