The original idea to open the headquaters in Phuket came in 2007 from the then police chief Pol Gen Seripisut Tehmeeyawes. The purpose, he said at the time, was to develop the police region headquarters to be able to handle the fast grown economy in the region. Especially tourism which earns a lot of revenue for the country.
The Treasury Department approved construction of the headquarters on January 18, 2008.
“The main reason for moving the Region 8 Headquarters from Surat Thani to Phuket is because the Andaman provinces are the fastest growing areas in the region, and to ensure tourists feel secure and safe in the region,” Pol Col Thaworn Saengrit from Police Region 8 said at the opening.
Many efforts were made by previous police chiefs to move the headquarters to Phuket. However, it was current chief Pol Gen Somyos Phumpanmuang who approved the B80 million budget for the building.
“Gen Somyos said at the time that he would like to see the new headquarters finished within his term, and today he is presiding of the opening ceremony,” Col Thawon added.
“We have to thank so many officers and organisations that helped make this happen. Without their help it could hardly have been a success.” Gen Somyos said.
The new headquarters have been designed in Phuketʼs famous Chino-Portuguess achitectural style and has a total space of over 9,000 square meters. Construction started on May 30, 2013 and was complete on December 6, 2014, a total of 555 days.
Officers officially started working from the new headquarters on August 1, 2015.