Contractors reported yesterday (Nov 13) that they had “only 500 metres to go” to complete the road.
“Only two days to go!” they said in a post online.
Work on the three-kilometre road began some two weeks ago, with construction already underway when the project was publicly announced on Nov 1.
The road, about eight metres wide, is constructed with reinforced concrete and complies with the required standards for such concrete roads to be used for the public, the contractors explained in the post yesterday.
The Patong Development Foundation, which is acting as the main coordinating body for the project, confirmed yesterday that as of last Thursday (Nov 10), donations received to complete the road totalled B2,085,377.52.
Preechawude ‘Prab’ Keesin, head of the Pisona Group of companies in Patong and Founder of the Patong Development Foundation, called for the public to support the project with any small donations people could afford.
The initial budget and land for construction were provided by Tiger Kingdom Phuket and Mr Prab personally as well as other people “through Bangla Road Entertainment Entrepreneurs Club and the Patong Development Foundation”, Mr Preechawude explained.
The call for donations was initially posted on the foundation’s Facebook page and on Nov 4 received notable support by being shared by Phuket Info Center, a Facebook page operated by the Phuket Governor’s Office and used for important public announcements.
By “inviting all 414,471 registered residents in Phuket” to make a B30 donation, Mr Prab obliquely confirmed that the road is estimated to cost some B12.4 million (B12,434,130).
CHALONG - PATONG
Meanwhile, Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) President Rewat Areerob on Saturday (Nov 12) inspected progress of the road under construction from behind the Klong Kata reservoir in Chalong to 50 Pi Rd in Patong.
Good progress was being made, Mr Rewat said, adding that the easing of heavy rains had allowed work to continue at a good pace.
The project was “approximately 73% complete”, he said.
The owner of a land plot adjacent to the road being built had given permission for workers to expand the road onto the private plot and for earthworks to be conducted on the private land to reduce the risk of a landslide, Mr Rewat said.
When the new road was initially announced, Mr Rewat said the road would be only a “temporary route” for motorists to access Patong.
The work was to take some 15 days, Mr Rewat said on Oct 24.
However, just seven days later, he announced the PPAO’s intention to have the road approved to become “permanent”, despite the road crossing through a protected forest area.
The budget for the construction of the road has yet to be publicly confirmed.