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Baht/$ 34.70/74 (Bid/Ask)
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PUBLIC PROPERTY
WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI
Dhanarak Asset Development expects to develop 50 billion baht in public property over the next three to five years, according to managing director Surachai Eamvachirasakul. ''In the future, we expect to become the largest property developer in the country,'' Mr Surachai said.
With the economy expected to slow sharply due to the global economic crisis, policymakers are already planning to ramp up public spending to help keep the economy moving.
Dhanarak, a state enterprise under the Treasury Department, is already managing one of the largest single property projects in the country, the 19-billion-baht civil service complex on Chaeng Watthana Road. The project, covering 1.1 million square metres, will provide office space to two dozen government agencies and is currently 80% complete.
Future projects for Dhanarak include plans to invest 15 billion baht in 26 new correctional facilities nationwide. The agency also is responsible for building a new convention centre in Phuket, procuring land for new diplomatic embassies overseas and the construction of new police stations and housing facilities upcountry.
Mr Surachai said the prison programme stemmed from the policies set by the Corrections Department and the Justice Ministry to relocate existing correctional facilities outside of city centres.
The Phuket convention centre project, meanwhile, aims to build an international facility on the popular southern island province.
The Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, wants to build new embassies in 10 countries, including sites in Moscow, Mumbai, Athens and Bangladesh.
The ministry currently leases space in these countries for its embassies and ambassadors' residences at high cost of 40 to 50 million baht per year or more. Dhanarak Asset Development would be responsible for securing and purchasing new land and building a new embassy under the 2.5-billion-baht programme.
''Lease costs in some countries are quite high, such as in Mumbai or Bangladesh. The reason is that prime office area in the capital is quite limited, driving up costs,'' Mr Surachai said.
He said that Dhanarak, which financed the Chaeng Watthana project through securitised bonds, could use a similar financing model for its future projects. Property funds or syndicated loans could be another option for certain programmes.
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