The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has decided to step back from its comprehensive city plan, opting to open up to public opinions from residents in the metropolitan area until the end of February.
This comes after the recent opposition from the public, claiming that the new plan favors capitalists and real estate development companies.
Wisanu Supsomphon, the Deputy Governor of Bangkok said the previous city plan for Bangkok has been in use since 2013. According to the modern city development pattern, it requires a review every 5 years. The new city plan was drafted between 2021 and 2023, with seven rounds of public hearings. The latest one was held on Saturday (January 6). During this session, public concerns were raised that the new plan could disproportionately favor capitalists and lead to imbalanced development, lacking consideration for the well-being of residents at all levels.
The Deputy Governor stressed that the city plan does not unequivocally favor capitalists. The public demands water sources and environmental resources be added into the city plan. Bangkok authorities understand the concerns and are committed to listening to the public’s opinions until the end of February. Originally, the public input deadline was set for January 22, but it has been extended to ensure that residents can express their opinions fully through the city planning and development office’s website.
Mr. Wisanu added that the new city plan still need to go through at least three more committees of the Bangkok Governor, the Department of Public Works and Town&Country Planning, and the Permanent Secretary for Interior. Moreover, he reiterated that the reclaimed road alignments will not disturb their living areas. -819 (TNA)
