It was also stated that The Port area and underground car parks are still closed while workers carry out repairs to the damaged pillars, but the rest of the mall remains open to the public.
CEO of Phuket Square Co Ltd (Jungceylon), Mr Prawit Janyasittikul and managing director of engineering consultant company RKV Co Ltd, Mr Radab Kanjanawanitch, held a press conference at 2pm yesterday to clarify reports of damage to the supporting pillars in the car park and underground shopping area at Patong’s main shopping mall, Jungceylon after pictures of the damaged circulated on Social Media.
Mr Prawit said, “We were notified of the damage to the supporting pillars on Monday (June 6) and we are investigating to find out the cause and extent of the damage.
“We took action immediately after being notified of the damage and a team were assigned to resolve the problem. Local authorities were also notified and the underground areas, first floor Port area and nearby areas sealed off,” he said.
“After engineers inspected the area and spoke with Patong Municipality, workers were on site to add additional structural support around each damaged pillar to strengthening the supporting beams.
“The engineer and his team will repair the pillars according to the plan proposed to Provincial Hall which they assure will strengthening the pillars and meet with safety standards.
“They will also inspect all other pillars and the overall structure of the building to ensure safety all visitors and employees at Jungceylon which is home to more than 300 shops,” he added.
Mr Prawit went on to say that safety is a priority at Jungceylon and that the problems must be rectified in order to keep business operators, shops, clients, and tourists happy.
He also said, “I would like to confirm that only four pillars are damaged and not 10 as posted on Social Media. Workers are adding more supports to the beams so that the damaged pillars do not collapse before engineers repair them. We think this will take two to three days,” he said.
“We have not concealed from the press what has happened to the four damaged pillars, but we needed engineers to inspect the area first. Therefore, after June 6 we blocked of areas including The Port and Asian Spirit which house about 20 shops.
“The latter may open back up soon. It is too early to specify the cause of damage at this time. We want to give them time to thoroughly inspect the area,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, last night (June 9), Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada told the public not to worry about the damaged pillars and that Phuket Square Co Ltd and officials are working to solve the problem and ensure safety of all visitors to the complex.
Governor Chamroen was speaking during a visit to the underground area of Jungceylon where he himself inspected the damaged pillars at 8pm. The governor and his team were joined on the visit by Kathu District chief Sayan Chanachaiwong, Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup and engineers.
Governor Chamroen said, “The management of Jungceylon brought the building plans and structural engineering information for experts to examine and figure out what had happened and how to resolve the issue.
“Building inspections require safety to be a priority for the public who use the area. Right now, workers have marked all the risk areas and tomorrow engineers from the Department of Public Work Town and Country Planning will inspect the area and review all information and find the best solution for this,” he said.
“Phuket is a tourism destination so we have to take care of our island to maintain a good tourism image and ensure safety to all.
“Please do not worry, we are all here to help solve the problem and to ensure safety for all, and Jungceylon have workers on site placing steel beams to support each of the damaged pillars while engineers work on a permanent solution,” he added.