The five companies include Fair & Firm Co Ltd (the Pullman Arcadia Naithon Beach resort), Three Dolphins Co Ltd (the Trisara resort) and Malai Hill Co (The Malaiwana property development).
The other two are United Developers Corp and Three Dolphins Resort Co Ltd (for land in Cherng Talay).
Sirinart Marine National Park chief Kitiphat Taraphiban told The Phuket News today, “We have recommended that the Land Department revoke the 17 plots but we still do not know if the owners or other parties will reject the decision and file an appeal.
“If the process is done completely and the land is restored to the national park, we still have to think about what to do with the buildings on the land, which are worth billions or possibly trillions of baht. We need to speak with the government about this.”
He said that 20 teams of investigators have been working for about six weeks on another 2,600 rai of land believed to belong to Sirinart National Park, but with land titles already issued to pivate individuals or corporations.
“There are 16 teams of five specialists each from the Land Management Office regions 1-16 who are doing the work on the ground, another team handling the paperwork and three more from the Bureau of Preserved Land Reconstruction and Development doing cadastral surveys and interpreting aerial photographs.”
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) had approved a budget of B12 million for three months’ work by the various teams, he added.
“The teams are expected to finish their investigations within three months, which is around the end of January next year.
“Today we had a training session about legal tricks [used by encroachers], attended by the 20 teams of officers working on the Sirinart Park encroachment issue.”