Developer of Ashton Asoke 'must be held responsible'
published : 2 Aug 2023 at 11:26
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Post Reporters
The owner of the Ashton Asoke project is responsible for building an entrance to the condominium complex in accordance with the required standards, so they must be held responsible for failing to do so, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Tuesday.
Speaking for the first time since the Supreme Administrative Court retroactively revoked Ashton Asoke's construction permit over substandard access to the main road, Mr Chadchart insisted the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) officials did their duties to the best of their ability.
The 6-billion-baht luxury condominium project in Watthana district has been in the headlines since last week after the court ruled the entrance to the property did not meet the minimum required standards for a 50-storey building.
Meanwhile, its developer, Ananda MF Asia Asoke Co, is insisting that they met all the requirements for a building permit and that they secured the necessary approvals from all relevant agencies, including the BMA, before construction began.
Mr Chadchart said on Tuesday that it was clearly stated in the permit requirements that high-rises over a certain height must be connected to a main road by an entrance that has to be at least 12 metres wide.
The rules also clearly state the company will be held liable for any problem that arises in the future, the governor added.
Ashton Asoke's main entrance is connected to Asok Road. However, part of the entrance belongs to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), which expropriated the land to build the entrance to an underground train station right on the project's doorstep. As a result, the court decided last week that the project lacks a proper entrance and revoked its permit.
While the governor believes Ashton Asoke should be held responsible for the matter, he also said that a lot of the confusion surrounding the minimum requirements could have stemmed from the actions of officials in the previous governor's administration.
Mr Chadchart is expected to hold a press conference on the issue tomorrow.
Vocabulary
- administration: government - รัฐบาล
- doorstep (noun): a step outside a door of a building, or the area that is very close to the door - ธรณีประตู
- duty: something that you have to do because it is part of your job, or something that you feel is the right thing to do - หน้าที่, ความรับผิดชอบ
- expropriate (verb): to officially take away private property from its owner for public use - ยึด,เวนคืน,บังคับเอา
- liable (adj): legally responsible for (often for causing damage or injury) - มีความรับผิดชอบตามกฎหมาย
- permit: an official document that gives you permission to do something - ใบอนุญาต
- responsible: deserving to be blamed for something that has happened - มีความรับผิดชอบ
- retroactively: affecting things that have happened since a particular date in the past, before -
- revoke: to officially say that something is no longer legal - เพิกถอน
- standards: a level of quality that is normal or acceptable for a particular person or in a particular situation - มาตรฐาน, บรรทัดฐาน
- stemmed from (verb): was/were caused by - เกิดจาก
- substandard: not as good as you would normally expect, or not good enough to be accepted - ต่ำกว่ามาตราฐาน
- Supreme Administrative Court (noun): the highest court which deals with disputes between the private sector and government agencies - ศาลปกครองสูงสุด
