Demolition of Aetas Hotel expected to begin in February

Demolition of Aetas Hotel expected to begin in February

The demolition of the Aetas Hotel and serviced apartment in Bangkok's Pathumwan district is expected to begin in February next year, according to Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang.

He said yesterday that work cannot begin sooner due to City Hall regulations on hiring a contractor to demolish the building, noting it will take about three months to complete the hiring process.

Pol Gen Aswin's comments came after being prodded to answer when the demolition would begin following a long period of inaction since a Supreme Administrative Court ruling in December 2014 ordered the demolition.

The delay prompted local residents to accuse the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) of disobeying the court order.

The Supreme Administrative Court ordered City Hall to knock down the two buildings in Soi Ruamrudee in Pathumwan district within 60 days after finding that they violated a city construction ordinance which requires the size and height of buildings to correspond with the width of the road outside.

According to the governor, City Hall will have to set aside a budget, estimated at 200 million baht, to pay for the demolition work. It will sue the Aetas Hotel later to reclaim the costs.

Pol Gen Aswin said he expects the project developer to sue the BMA as soon as demolition work gets under way.

"They will sue the BMA for billions of baht and they will contend that the district office granted a permit to construct the buildings. What can I do? We'll have to go to court," he said.

Pinyo Sawatsith, a member of the legal team representing the Aetas Hotel's owners, said a permit was obtained to proceed with the construction.

The project developer is gathering documents to prove this is the case and should be able to appeal against the BMA demolition order in court by the end of this month, he said.

He declined to discuss details of the planned appeal, saying the documents are for the court's eyes only.

According to Mr Pinyo, the hotel and serviced apartment business has suffered as a result of the demolition order with some people cancelling bookings.

"We are assessing and estimating the damage, but many customers have stuck with us," he said.

He said the project developer has received a letter from Pathumwan district office demanding it pay fines for violating its ban on using the buildings pending the demolition.

However, he said the letter failed to say from when the fines are being imposed.

Mr Pinyo said even though the demolition sign affects its business, the hotel will pay the fines and will settle the dispute in court.

City Hall put up a notice board prohibiting the use of the buildings earlier this month and which said that violating the ban incurs daily penalties of 30,000 baht. The offence is also punishable by a six-month jail term and a fine of 100,000 baht.

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