NACC Phuket Director Suwat said that the scope of his investigation is far beyond that of the ‘One World’ project, confirmed as one of the projects to be investigated earlier this week.
Preliminary investigations monitored by the NACC Phuket office show that 35 cases involve local administrative organisations.
However, Mr Suwat did not provide details on how many cases were linked to each specific area.
Categorised by the nature of the complaints, 13 cases relate to procurement issues, 25 involve misconduct or corruption, two concern bribery, 12 involve land or natural resources, and two cases involve what Mr Suwat called "human resource management", bringing the total to 54 cases.
He highlighted two cases from the past month. The first began on Sept 10, when excavation and earthworks were carried out at the Supalai housing project site adjacent to the Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Sanctuary in Pa Khlok.
The second involved a site visit on Sept 11, where officials found excavation and soil filling at a luxury villa construction site on Soi Kumlai Thong 1 in Wichit.
The recent case that came down from the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Region 8 branch is the case of Soi Cherng Talay 14, with projects now under scrutiny for alleged irregularities in their EIA approvals, permit processes and environmental compliance, Mr Suwat explained.
He noted that the investigation is not limited to the One World condominium project. Other developments, including The Modeva and The Title Legendary Bang-Tao, are also being examined.
“Soi Cherng Talay 14 was thoroughly inspected last week after a rapid boom in construction projects in the Bang Tao area, this has caused impacts to local residents, including noise, pollution and construction waste,” he said.
The inspections come as NACC Phuket office begins a formal probe into the projects in Bang Tao, following allegations of corruption in the EIA approval process, permit issuance and reported breaches of EIA conditions.
Meanwhile, the developer of One World One Home has firmly denied all allegations. In a detailed statement, the company said the project is fully legal, holds a valid EIA and passed joint government inspections which found only minor administrative issues.
It also claimed earlier reports contained misleading imagery and highlighted visits from high-profile figures, including former Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot and Lt Gen Boonsin Phadklang, as signs of support.
Natthakrit Phonphet, Director of the Phuket Provincial Office of Natural Resources and Environment, further confirmed to The Phuket News that the One World project is now compliant with the law and has secured EIA approval. He added that inspections of all projects along Soi Cherng Talay 14 were conducted in response to residents’ complaints.
The inquiry was initiated after the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Region 8 submitted a request, supported by a multi-agency site inspection that found several projects in the area were failing to comply with environmental-impact mitigation requirements, while responsible agencies had not adequately enforced oversight.
Residents have long complained about dust, noise, safety risks and raised concerns about EIA transparency, prompting district officials to call for stronger monitoring, corrective measures and urgent action from developers.
Local authorities from relevant government offices are now preparing to summon the developers for talks and strengthen environmental-impact enforcement.