Owners of the famous "Krathom Rim Than" resort in Kanchanaburi have finally agreed to demolish its cottages after the authorities issued them with a final warning against encroaching on Khao Laem National Park.
The park had issued a demolition order for all 14 cottages in the resort to be completed by Thursday, in accordance with a Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment directive.
The resort's owners, Kittipong Tonsomboon and his wife Sompang, agreed to demolish the cottages -- five have already been removed and the rest are expected to be gone by the end of the month.
National Park chief Thewin Meesap welcomed the owners' cooperation, saying it saved the park the cost of removing the buildings and allowed the owners to reuse the building materials for other purposes.
Had the park been forced to demolish the cottages, it would have had to keep the materials and sell them to pay for the work, Mr Thewin said. If that didn't raise enough money, the park might have been forced to sue the owners.
Nipon Jamnongsirisak, director of the Protected Area Regional Office 3 (Ban Pong), said the park would now restore the forest area used by the resort for the benefit of all Thais.
The ministry aims to increase the kingdom's protected forest areas from 102 million rai, or 31% of the country's landmass, to 129 million rai, or 40%.