The inspection was carried out on Dec 18 by NACC Phuket Director Suwat Saovaran and officers from the agency’s Anti-Corruption Prevention Group, working in coordination with the Mai Khao Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor) and the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO).
The site, covering about 13 rai, comprises three buildings originally developed under a central government project valued at B131 million intended to enhance disaster management facilities at the Tha Chatchai checkpoint area.
However, despite construction starting in 2016 and the work supposed to be completed by April 2017, the project lay unused for years, with structures deteriorating from exposure, rainwater damage and humidity.
According to information provided during the visit, the PPAO officially took transfer of the site on Dec 16, 2024. The Engineering Department then surveyed the complex, assessed damage and moved ahead with a repair programme worth B1.37mn to make the facilities operational. The contract was originally due to be completed by Nov 29, 2025, but work remains unfinished, though officials said only minor touch-ups remain.
During the inspection earlier this week, NACC officers confirmed that building conditions had improved and works were visibly progressing, with workers seen carrying out painting and finishing jobs inside and outside the structures.
The PPAO outlined plans to use the site as the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Centre for Thalang District, with responsibilities to include water management, flooding, drought prevention and landslide risk preparedness.
The centre is also intended to host training and disaster response drills. Authorities also plan to incorporate an electric bus (EV Bus) charging facility at the site and will hire guards and cleaning staff once operations begin.
Officials reiterated that the centre is now expected to be operational by February 2026.
The NACC Phuket office stated it will continue to follow up on progress and coordinate with relevant agencies to ensure the facilities are finally brought into full use for the public benefit, while reminding state officials of their duty to strictly comply with all laws and regulations.
However, despite the inspection confirming progress, the NACC Phuket announcement made no mention of any investigation into how the project, part of the original B131mn government development budget, came to be abandoned for so many years or how responsibility for the long delay will be addressed.
The site was among several failed or stalled major Phuket construction projects previously highlighted by national anti-corruption advocates, including the STRONG Anti-Corruption Thailand Club, which in 2023 publicly questioned what went wrong with the development and called for stronger scrutiny of state spending on such projects.
For now, authorities insist the long-idle complex will finally be put to use – but questions over the project’s troubled past remain unanswered.