Pattaya

Pattaya’s reclaimed beaches are washing away

Published

3 months ago

December 7, 2018

The Thaiger

PHOTO: Pattaya Mail

All the money and effort Pattaya has spent to rebuild its beach is being wasted through little or no maintenance. This is the opinion shared with Pattaya News by tourists to the region.

Numerous visitors have told Pattaya Mail reporters about weeds, moss and water-filled gouges running through the northernmost part of the beach near the Dusit Thani Hotel in Pattaya.

They say the low-lying beach is suffering constant inundation from storm run-off flowing across the Beach Road and taking some of the new sand out to sea. The water is cutting channels into the newly replaced sand areas and wild grass and moss is growing there.

Additionally, tourists say there is uncollected rubbish which is rotting there as well. Tourists and expats point out that Pattaya has spent more than a 500 million baht to repair its beach, but aren’t spending the relatively little money to keep it looking beautiful.

Beach reclamation underway. PHOTO: The Nation

SOURCE: Pattaya Mail

Pattaya

Foreign tourists being tracked down for driving dangerously in Pattaya

Published

1 day ago

February 20, 2019

The Thaiger

Daily News reports that Pattaya Police are tracking down two foreigners caught on video riding recklessly in the Jomtien area, south of Pattaya.

The video clip shows the two men waiting at traffic lights before racing each other with one man splaying his legs and doing a “wheelie”.

Neither of the pair were wearing a helmet or shirts.

The Pattaya police chief, Pol Col Apichai Krobpetch, spoke to Daily News Online and said he had ordered officers to find the tourists. CCTV at the intersection and along Jomtien Sai 2 is being checked to better identify the bikes and help track down the pair.

He said they will be charged with reckless endangerment of the public and not wearing helmets. The reckless endangerment charge carries the possibility of a jail term.

Earlier this week it was announced that three Thai motorbike riders had been jailed for doing wheelies along the highway. The jail terms were suspended by the court.

SOURCE: Daily News

Pattaya

Two Thai motorcyclists injured as British man makes a “sudden U-turn”

Published

2 days ago

February 19, 2019

The Thaiger

Two Thais on a motorbike have hit a car driven by a British man in Thepprasit Road, Pattaya early yesterday morning.

The Pattaya News reports that local police and Sawang Boriboon emergency responders headed to the scene where they found a Honda City with Chonburi plates stopped in the middle of the road. It had damage to the right rear side.

The sedan driver was named as 34 year old Samuel Matthew Stonard, a British citizen. On the road there was a Yamaha Spark with an Ayuthaya plate along with two people, an injured man and a woman.

They were identified as 35 year old Chalermphon Pongketrakarn and 44 year old Khamyat Dechabun.
After being given first aid at the scene they were taken to Bang Lamung Hospital.

Chalermphon said he was heading for Sukhumvit Road when the car made a “sudden and unexpected U-turn”. He claims he was unable to brake in time and hit the rear right side at speed.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News

Business

Airbus scales back in the UK and invests more in Thailand’s new aviation maintenance hub

Published

3 days ago

February 18, 2019

The Thaiger

by Supalak Ganjanakhundee

Uncertainty over Thailand’s political situation is apparently less of a concern for Airbus than the political uncertainties in the UK with Brexit looming. Whilst Airbus is pulling out some of its manufacturing in Britain, the European consortium is now looking to Thailand for new maintenance and repair facilities to help service the rapidly growing ASEAN aviation sector.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which first set up shop in Thailand more than 40 years ago, said the MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) sector offered enormous potential for the country’s aerospace business in the coming years.

France Airbus and national flag carrier Thai Airways International launched a joint venture for MRO facilities at U-tapao Airport last June. U-tapao is the renovated military airport now servicing the provinces immediately to the east of Bangkok, including the resort of Pattaya and the industrial provinces of Chon Buri and Rayong.

The MRO facility at U-tapao is part of the government’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) strategy and enjoys strong support from the business community, which has called for its continued rollout after the March 24 election.

The MRO will be a key showpiece of the aeronautics industry in ASEAN, given the enormous growth of the local aviation industry and new routes being launched, many in and out of Thailand.

All those new aircraft require maintenance,” says Cedric Post, the French Aerospace Industry Association’s deputy director for European and international affairs.

“The in-service fleets in the Asia Pacific region will grow in size from 6,900 aircraft to over 20,000 in the next 20 years.”

“While other ASEAN members including Singapore have been in the MRO market for a long time, there is still room for Thailand due to its strong automobile and electronics manufacturing base.”

Singapore is short of land and costly while Thailand’s U-tapao Airport is large enough to serve current operations and expansion, Cedric said.

The U-tapao MRO centre will be one of the most modern and extensive in the region, offering heavy maintenance and line services, said Airbus head of marketing for Asia and North America, Joost van der Heijden.

“We will incorporate the latest digital technologies, specialised repair shops and a maintenance training centre,” he added.

“For Airbus, our MoU with THAI is about the opportunity to innovate and to lead the way in the aerospace sector.”

When fully operational, the U-tapao MRO centre is to offer heavy and routine maintenance for all wide-body aircraft types, specialised repair shops including for composite structures, as well as extensive maintenance training courses for technical personnel from Thailand and overseas.

Airbus and THAI are still working on the final details of the deal, while already partnering to address the MRO requirements.

“This will be a major new facility that reflects our confidence in Thailand,” said van der Heijden.