Island CCTV “ready next month’
PHUKET CITY Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth on Monday announced that the island-wide 16-million-baht closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system will be operational in three popular tourist districts by mid-February.
Work on the project, begun last August, was funded under former Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s discretionary budget for provincial development.
The network, being installed by telecommunications provider CAT Telecom Public Company Ltd, uses high-speed wireless CDMA EV-DO technology, similar to the wireless network now available to Internet users around the island.
Sixteen CCTV cameras will begin operating in Patong in mid-February, with similar systems in Phuket City and Kata-Karon expected to be in service by the end of the month.
CCTV video feeds will be monitored at a command center located in the local police station: Kathu Police station for Patong; Phuket City; and Chalong Police Station, which covers Kata-Karon.
Tourism industry leaders lauded the upcoming security boost, while noting that the New Year’s Eve bombings in Bangkok had not greatly deterred foreign visitors from coming to Phuket.
Phuket Tourist Association President Maitree Narukatpichai insisted that cancellations resulting from the Bangkok bombings were minimal, with occupancy rates in island hotels still high at about 90%, on average.
Maj Decha also said that the new system is expected to increase security and improve traffic flow in Patong when the one-way traffic system will come into effect January 15.
