Convention center “benefits all’

KRABI: A regional improvement conference at Krabi has been told that an international convention and exhibition center (CEC) on Phuket would also benefit other provinces. Provincial Vice Governor Winai Buapradit told the conference on August 22 that the Thai Government was prepared to spend 800 million baht on the CEC and was in the process of choosing a site. Anupharp Thirarath, Director of the local Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office, said Phang Nga and Krabi would probably also benefit from conference delegates coming to Phuket. It was important for the Andaman region to have conference facilities of different sizes, he said, because each year the Andaman region lost some gatherings to Pattaya or Chiang Mai. The four proposed sites for the center are: land near the Sirinath National Park in Mai Khao; land in Phuket Town where the Provincial Mineral Resources Office is currently located; a site currently being used for animal farming in Khao Kard in Ao Makham; and the public park at Saphan Hin.