With five new mixed-use projects boasting a total construction area of at least 2.6 million square metres and a combined investment of over 170 billion baht in the pipeline, Rama IV Road is expected to become Bangkok's most bustling street in the foreseeable future.
The biggest developer who is reshaping Rama IV Road over the next eight years is TCC Group, owned by billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, which will invest more than 135 billion baht in four of the five new projects.
The four sites are located at a distance of four kilometres between Sam Yan intersection and the Klong Toey intersection along Rama IV Road, in the vicinity of four subway stations. All will be situated on leasehold plots.
The largest project will be One Bangkok, an integrated development with a price tag of over 120 billion baht. Mr Charoen's companies, comprising TCC Assets (Thailand) Co and Frasers Property Holdings (Thailand) Co, will invest in and develop that project.
TCC Assets is a TCC Group subsidiary, while Frasers Property Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-based property firm Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL), which has over 605 billion baht in assets worldwide. Both are chaired by Mr Charoen.
The city-like project will be located on a 104-rai plot formerly used by the Pre-Cadet School and the Suan Lum Night Bazaar on the corner of Wireless and Rama IV roads opposite Lumpini Park. It was leased from the Crown Property Bureau (CPB) after an auction in 2014.
About 1.83 million sq m of gross floor area -- 70% of the total future construction area on the road -- has been allocated for the project. The largest component will be five grade A office towers with a total lettable area of 500,000 sq m.
Others components will include five luxury hotels with around 1,000 rooms, three ultra-luxury residential towers, retail space, a 10,000 sq m plaza for activities, arts and culture and a promenade.
"The project will feature all of TCC Group's strengths," says Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, group CEO of FCL and Mr Charoen's youngest son. "It will not only be a project, the likes of which have never been seen in Thailand, but a landmark of the 21st century."
The other three new projects on Rama IV Road TCC Group is investing in are a development on a 35-rai plot near the Klong Toey intersection, known as the Thep Prathan plot, which is also owned by the CPB and leased to the group.
Commercial properties will be developed on the plot, which is currently being used as rental car parking space, called EZ Park, by Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC). The first project will be an office tower for which development will begin this year and be completed in 2019.
Meanwhile, N.C.C. Management & Development Co, one of TCC Group's subsidiaries, will next year spend 6 billion baht to upgrade and develop a new phase of QSNCC with a construction area of 180,000 sq m next year.
The 65,000 sq m QSNCC is located on a 53-rai plot owned by the Treasury Department. The cabinet earlier this year approved an amended contract between the Treasury Department and N.C.C. to extend the land lease contract to 50 years from 29.
The other property development on Rama IV Road by TCC Group is Samyan Mitrtown, a mixed-use project on a 14-rai plot on the corner of Rama IV and Phaya Thai, leased from Chulalongkorn University.
With an investment of 8.5 billion baht, the project is being developed by SET-listed Golden Land Property Development Plc, in which the Sirivadhanabhakdi family holds a major share. It will have a total gross floor area of 220,000 sq m and is scheduled for completion by 2020.
Apart from TCC Group's four projects, there will be a joint venture mixed-use development from SET-listed hotel group Dusit Thani Plc and SET-listed retail developer Central Pattana Plc. That project will be on a 23.5-rai plot on the corner of Rama IV and Silom, where Dusit Thani Hotel is currently situated.
Owned by the CPB, the plot was leased to Dusit Thani for 30 years at a price of 7.33 billion baht. Construction will begin in July 2017, with the lease period set to go into effect in 2024, when the project is due to be complete, according to Dusit's report to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
With a price tag of 36.7 billion baht -- the second largest on Rama IV Road -- the project will comprise a hotel, residential, retail and office space with a total gross area of 403,000 sq m.
Andrew Gulbrandson, associate director for research & consultancy at property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Thailand, says there will be also a lettable area of 10,000 sq m by 2019 following renovation of what was formerly Silom Center Building on the corner of Silom and Rama IV.
All of these future projects will add a total lettable area of around one million sq m to Rama IV Road, comprising 750,000-sq-m in office space and 250,000-sq-m in retail areas, he says.
Despite the huge amount of future office supply due by 2025, Mr Gulbrandson says there are no fears of vacancies, as expected business expansion will fuel demand.
The bulk of the new office supply will be grade A, for which 60-65% of demand stems from multinational companies.
"While the skyline of the 125-year-old Rama IV Road will transform over the next eight years, heavy traffic both during and after the construction periods, along with strain on public transportation, are major concerns," he says.
Currently, the number of the subway trains on the MRT are unable to accommodate commuters during the morning and evening rush hours.
He says one million sq m of commercial space at the future projects and other residential developments in the pipeline on Rama IV Road will bring in around 600,000 trips daily to the road, which is already congested due to the closure of the Thai-Belgian Bridge for repairs.
"There should be new infrastructure or a mass transit line expansion, either invested in by the government or the private sector, to accommodate people working or living in this area," he says.