Governor defends support for marina

PHUKET: Governor CEO Pongpoyome Vasaputi defended himself today against criticism over the fast-tracking of the project to build Phuket’s third yacht marina. Gulu Lalvani, head of international telephone manufacturer Binatone, has undertaken to spend around a billion baht on the project, the Royal Phuket Marina, provided that the governor can help slice through bureaucratic red tape. Speaking at his regular twice-monthly press conference, Gov Pongpayome said today that he had heard that many people were asking why he had given such wholehearted support to an investment scheme by a foreigner. Noting that the 1.2 billion baht provided by the government to develop Phuket each year was a small amount compared with the income from tourism, he said, “Most of the tourists who come to Phuket by yacht are rich, and they will spend a lot of money in Phuket. “A lot of businesses in Phuket will benefit from this project.” Thais will also be employed during construction of the marina and after its establishment, he noted. He also defended himself vigorously against rumors that he has something to gain, personally, from supporting the project. “I will never get any profit from [Mr Lalvani]. I want to ask people: please have faith. Even if we have a lot of bad people here, we still have good guys too. “Money cannot buy everyone. Please don’t think that everyone has low standards. Just because some people like ‘kee’ [excrement] doesn’t mean that everyone appreciates it,” he added.