Riverside hotel slated for 2025

A 4.6-billion-baht boutique hotel development project located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River is scheduled to be completed in 2025, says the Treasury Department.

Home to a 130-year-old building owned by the Treasury Department, the five-rai project is being developed by U City Plc, the project concessionaire, after a 16-year period of inactivity because of problems associated with the development area, said Yuttana Yimgarund, director-general of the department.

Known as the "Rong Phasi Roi Chak Sam" state property development project, the area is to be developed into a 33-room luxury hotel based on the architecture of classical temples.

The age of the building, erected during the reign of King Rama V, makes it a "heritage development project".

U City said in a statement in 2019, "moving forward, U City is ready to invest 3 billion baht to develop this historical landmark into a luxury riverside hotel establishment, with an aim to woo more upscale travellers, while adding tourism value to local communities in the Bang Rak district."

The main problem causing the 16-year inactivity stemmed from government agencies and government housing being moved out of the area before construction could begin.

The Treasury and Customs departments on Thursday jointly organised a handover ceremony of an eight-storey building, valued at 60.9 million baht, with an occupancy size for 100 families.

The building was compensation for government agencies under the Customs Department that used to benefit from this project area, said Mr Yuttana.

In addition to U City, Aman Resort Services Ltd and Silverlink Resorts Ltd are joint developers of the eight-storey building.