ICEC green light report denied
A local report that the Phuket International Conference and Exhibition Centre (ICEC) has been given the go-ahead by the Office of Natural Resources & Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) has been denied by the man spearheading the attempt to get it back on track.
Monday 14 November 2011, 05:38PM
ONEP called a halt to the project at the beginning of September, on the erroneous grounds that the site for the ICEC is in a mangrove forest area and abuts a beach on which endangered marine turtle species lay eggs.
Pitak Direksunthorn, Director of the Bureau of State Property Management, Region 2, told The Phuket News today (November 14) that the flooding in Bangkok had caused delays in sending additional information to ONEP in a bid to have it reconsider its ban on the project.
“All the documents and information should have gone to ONEP at the end of October, but this was delayed by the widespread flooding in Bangkok,” Mr Pitak said. “Now I’m preparing all the paperwork to resend next week.”
Although the project is still on hold, Phuket Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirak said in a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall last week that he was confident the ICEC project will get the green light soon.
“We are collecting as much supporting information as possible. I believe the project will happen soon,” he said.
