Jungceylon to open “by December 1′

PHUKET CITY: The long-awaited Jungceylon project will open for business by December 1, a top executive for project owner Phuket Square Company Ltd told the Governor today.

Prawit Janyasittikul, Deputy CEO of Phuket Square, visited Phuket Provincial Hall this morning to brief Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura on the progress of the project, located on Rat-U-Thit 200 Phi Rd in Patong.

Jungceylon, originally slated to open November last year, was halted after ballooning costs, liquidity problems and a legal dispute between its two principal investors resulted in project contractor Powerline halting work at the site for five months.

Work resumed April last year after former investor Manit Udomkunnatum’s 53% share in Phuket Square was bought out by US-registered investment fund Real Estate Capital Asia Partners (Recap).

Today, K. Prawit confirmed that work on the project was nearly complete and that the project would open for business on December 1.

Following the buyout, the cost of which he put at 5 billion baht, all available retail space has been reserved, he said.

One high-profile tenant, French hypermarket Carrefour, would open on October 15, he said.

With so many businesses preparing to open at one time, Jungceylon and its tenants needed to launch a publicity complain to find enough employees, he said.

Gov Udomsak told K. Prawit that he hoped Jungceylon would be a success, and raise the profile of Phuket and Patong among foreign tourists.

However, he expressed concern that Jungceylon’s key location, on 55 rai in the heart of Patong, might draw business away from existing businesses, causing hardship and resentment.

K. Prawit said Jungceylon is planning an October 9 press conference at the site to introduce the project to the public.