Icnos R Us
Despite a push by the interim government for people
and organizations to adopt HM the King’s “Sufficiency Economy” principles,
Phuket has clearly retained its uncanny ability to attract big,
bold development schemes, both from the government and private sectors.
In the past few month alone, there have been private sector initiatives
to build a man-made island to cater to the yachting needs of the
word’s richest people, followed by a raucous public hearing on the
need for the ambitious Phase II of the Chalong Marina plan.
These two schemes combined would pale into insignificance if the
futuristic Phuket Bay “International Convention, Exhibition, Entertainment
& Resort Complex” ever becomes reality.
Earlier this year, a proposal was put forward to build a tsunami
barrier that would automatically pop up in the nick of time, protecting
Patong Bay from the ravages of any future tsunamis.
Back on dry land, investors last week came to meet the governor
to sound out the possibility of constructing a cable car to transport
holiday-makers up to a scenic vista in the hillsides above Patong
(see News pages).
In January 2003, Srimuang Charoensri, then a member of the Senate
Committee on Communications, became the latest official to propose
the construction of a tunnel under Patong Hill to ease traffic congestion
and reduce road accidents there.
Slowly nearing completion in the Nakkerd Hills, on what was once
government virgin forest land, is what promises to be Phuket’s newest
icon: the Mingmongkol Buddha image, a 45-meter-high colossus built
on donations by faithful Buddhists “finding their ways to leap out
from sufferings to face the enduring happiness”, according to the
project’s fund-raising website.
Another icon to be open soon is the Phuket Provincial Administration
Organization’s long-delayed, 46-million-baht “Welcome Gate” project
at Tah Chat Chai.
Two other ambitious plans that threaten to leave much of Tah Chat
Chai covered in concrete are the large sports complex and the international
convention center, both on Treasury Department land.
If and when all of these projects are completed, Phuket will likely
have more icons than a computer desktop – but much less of the natural
beauty that attracted most residents in the first place.
When a new government is elected, let’s see if it identifies environmental
protection as its top priority and takes steps to preserve what
is left of Phuket’s natural beauty after decades of poorly-regulated,
greed-driven development. A good first step would be immediate funding
for a second incinerator at Saphan Hin.
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