A HASTILY-CALLED meeting to discuss the 63.5 billion baht Ao Phuket project brought angry responses from local leaders.
They were irate about two things: the lack of warning about the meeting on May 29, which was brought forward a day at the last minute, and the 2200 rai project itself.
Ao Phuket would involve building a 37 billion baht conference centre on reclaimed land off Phuket City's Saphan Hin public park, with a 26.5 billion deep-water marina.
The project, first mooted in 1989, has a long and troubled history. The original proposal by the Orborjor was part of a plan to give economic autonomy to the whole province of Phuket.
The ''independent Phuket'' part of the plan has vanished.
Critics now say Ao Phuket on its own would be a waste of money because large amounts of public land are available elsewhere, much closer to the Phuket International Airport.
The meeting saw plenty of critics in action against a few defenders of the project.
Worasit Rojanapanit, director of the key Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), told about 100 people at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket City that the process of listening to local opinion had just begun.
But one woman in the audience responded that if everyone in Phuket had known about the meeting, many more would have turned up to ask awkward questions.
Locals needed much more information about the project, she said.
People connected with the environment certainly needed to be told what was happening, but so did students, farmers, teachers, monks, fisherfolk and officer workers - in fact, all Phuket residents.
Bringing international visitors to Phuket was something everyone wanted but local needs and the environment were also important, said Chalong community leader Suta Pratep Na Talang.
He said he did not believe the project offered sufficient benefits to locals.
Others spoke out against the destruction of Saphan Hin as a public park and a sports centre that thousands of locals also used for festivals and picnics all year round.
A construction period of several years, coupled with the building of new roads, would bring an end to the park and its benefits.
The Ao Phuket project, on the other hand, would only be used by conference centre visitors and rich yacht owners.
Khun Worasit promised that he and other members of DASTA would return to Phuket frequently to explain the project thoroughly and listen to what local people had to say.
Some people questioned why he would come back when the message from the meeting was one of overwhelming opposition to the project.
Is Ao Phuket good or bad for the island? Sink it or float it? Tell us now by commenting below!
They were irate about two things: the lack of warning about the meeting on May 29, which was brought forward a day at the last minute, and the 2200 rai project itself.
Ao Phuket would involve building a 37 billion baht conference centre on reclaimed land off Phuket City's Saphan Hin public park, with a 26.5 billion deep-water marina.
The project, first mooted in 1989, has a long and troubled history. The original proposal by the Orborjor was part of a plan to give economic autonomy to the whole province of Phuket.
The ''independent Phuket'' part of the plan has vanished.
Critics now say Ao Phuket on its own would be a waste of money because large amounts of public land are available elsewhere, much closer to the Phuket International Airport.
The meeting saw plenty of critics in action against a few defenders of the project.
Worasit Rojanapanit, director of the key Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), told about 100 people at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket City that the process of listening to local opinion had just begun.
But one woman in the audience responded that if everyone in Phuket had known about the meeting, many more would have turned up to ask awkward questions.
Locals needed much more information about the project, she said.
People connected with the environment certainly needed to be told what was happening, but so did students, farmers, teachers, monks, fisherfolk and officer workers - in fact, all Phuket residents.
Bringing international visitors to Phuket was something everyone wanted but local needs and the environment were also important, said Chalong community leader Suta Pratep Na Talang.
He said he did not believe the project offered sufficient benefits to locals.
Others spoke out against the destruction of Saphan Hin as a public park and a sports centre that thousands of locals also used for festivals and picnics all year round.
A construction period of several years, coupled with the building of new roads, would bring an end to the park and its benefits.
The Ao Phuket project, on the other hand, would only be used by conference centre visitors and rich yacht owners.
Khun Worasit promised that he and other members of DASTA would return to Phuket frequently to explain the project thoroughly and listen to what local people had to say.
Some people questioned why he would come back when the message from the meeting was one of overwhelming opposition to the project.
Is Ao Phuket good or bad for the island? Sink it or float it? Tell us now by commenting below!
