PATTAYA: The Marine Department has ordered Pattaya City to halt the building of recreational areas on the ocean side of the footpath along Beach Road because it may be in in breach of the law, a department official said.
Ekarat Kantharo, director of the Regional Marine Office in Pattaya, said the work could be construed as illegal encroachment on the newly renovated beach and this needed to be sorted out.
The recreation areas are part of Pattaya City's North-South Pattaya beach landscape development project.
The project is being carried out under a government policy to develop and promote tourism in three main provinces in the Eastern Economic Corridor. It is planned to create a new landscape for Pattaya beach by expanding traffic lanes, building recreational areas and growing more trees along Beach Road.
Concrete walls are being erected at three or four spots, about 5-6 metres from the footpath on the beach side, where the recreation areas would be built.
This could be seen as encroachment on the beach in violation of a Transport Ministry announcement, Mr Ekarat said.
Mr Ekarat said he had a meeting with Pattaya City officials, the construction contractor and other agencies to discuss this matter. The city had been asked to temporarily suspend the work.
The city administration and the contractor had been asked to urgently request permission to use part of Pattaya Beach and submit the masterplan for the project for consideration.
Mr Ekarat said Pattaya Beach had only recently been restored at a cost of 430 million baht under a project of the Marine Department. The beach earlier eroded away and was only 2-5 metres deep.
Sand had been imported and used as fill to expand the beach to a depth of 35 metres. The project was completed only in 2019.