Local residents recently staged a protest at the offices of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor), which is responsible for allowing the project to continue.
Phuket MP Thitikan Thitipruethikul has even brought the issue to the attention of officials in Bangkok and submitted a formal complaint letter to Parliament.
The residents’ plight has also been picked by national Thai news platforms.
Steve Dixon, a prominent voice expressing concerns about the project, last week led a group of local residents in opposing the construction following the approval of the hotel’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.
Natthakrit Phonphet, Deputy Director of the Phuket office of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE Phuket), confirmed to The Phuket News that the Nebu project has passed its EIA, which has been handed over to Cherng Talay OrBorTor, despite local residents living in the immediate area strongly protesting against the construction.
“The developer was confident that construction of the project would soon begin and receive approval from the OrBorTor,” Mr Dixon said.
However, Mr Dixon said that when he called Cherng Talaya OrBorTor, he was told that the construction was still on hold and no permission had been granted to Nebu for construction yet. Regardless, preparations at the site for construction to begin have been gaining momentum in the past few weeks.
Vague responses and blank denials from Cherng Talay OrBorTor about the Nebu project are not unusual, as already experienced by The Phuket News when questioning local officials about the project.
The project was initially approved during the time that MaAnn Samran was Chief of Cherng Talay OrBorTor. MaAnn last year was sentenced to two year’s jail without the option of parole on corruption charges for a different project he approved to be built in the Cherng Talay area.
At last report, MaAnn, along with three other officials, stood accused by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) of providing illegal and forged documents for the construction of yet another resort project in Bang Tao.
Regardless, since Manoch Panchalad has taken up the position as Chief of Cherng Talay OrBorTor, the behaviour of local officials regarding the Nebu project continues.
When Mr Dixon asked Cherng Talay OrBorTor about the approval status of the Nebu resort, he was told that the OrBorTor had not yet granted permission for the project, as it is “currently awaiting further extensions or adjustments”.
“If no objections are raised within 45 days, permission may be granted,” Mr Dixon was told, despite the obvious and well supported opposition to the project by local residents.
MP Thitikan explained in his report to Parliament, that despite concerns raised about the impact the resort, comprising 89 rooms, would have on the local community and without a construction permit or clear approval from the OrBorTor, the project was still proceeding.
Mr Thitikan emphasised the project faces significant infrastructure challenges.
“The entrance and exit roads are only three to four metres wide, making them unsuitable for construction vehicles. Also, the area is prone to flooding during heavy rains, worsening accessibility issues,” he said.
“From my field visit, I saw the road is too narrow. If a hotel is built, cars will not be able to pass each other. If construction is carried out, there will be cement mixer trucks entering and exiting all the time. There will be various construction worker camps, which will affect the people in the area for quite a long time and will cause a loss of privacy. The residential area is not suitable for building any hotels.” MP Thitikan noted.
“There is also a rooftop bar planned for the top of the hotel, which is in a residential area. Building a hotel in this area may cause more problems,” MP Thitikan said.
“Before the project began, the EIA was conducted in 2019,” he pointed out. “Therefore, we would like to ask the government agencies to conduct a new EIA because the environment has changed significantly.”
UNACCEPTABLE
One of the local residents The Phuket News spoke to said he had urged Cherng Talay OrBorTor to carefully consider the construction project and conduct a genuine EIA to ask the actual opinions of the people in the area.
“Local residents have raised objections due to unclear project details, potential environmental and traffic impacts, and a lack of proper consultation during the EIA process,” the local resident said.
“What was originally proposed was a seven-story, 112-room hotel, which then changed to an 89-unit mixed-use building, but residents remain uninformed about progress,” he added.
“Now what is weird is that they have even started to take room reservations on their website, and they’re now open for bookings, showing they are confident that the hotel is going to be built soon.
“It’s our privacy, and we feel uncomfortable for a building that high… It feels like people will be looking at us from the higher floors.
“Moreover, the MNRE claimed that the local residents agreed with the project. However, this assertion has been repeatedly questioned and we have repeatedly requested evidence to support their claim, but it was never provided,” he added.
The local resident also pointed out that the OrBorTor plans to construct a road over the grassy area at the end of Soi 8, extending it to connect with Soi 4.
“The plan involves clearing the grass to allow more cars to pass through and this will only lead to increased traffic in the area,” he said.
Another local resident, Outsanee Sukkraphan, said, “We have talked with the developer about the consequences that will come from construction,,, polluted water, traffic… but they don’t care.
“The developer told me that the project complies with all regulations, does not violate any rules and has already been approved by the MNRE. They claim they have the right to proceed with construction and are not concerned about objections.”
Meanwhile, Mr Natthakrit from the MNRE Phuket office remains steadfast in that construction of the hotel remains legal.
“We have thoroughly reviewed the project and found it does not violate any regulations. It is located on private land, and the developer has the right to build on their property. They have met all the necessary criteria, which is why we approved it," Mr Natthakrit said.