Regional Police HQ coming to Phuket
MAI KHAO: The Royal Thai Police Region 8 command headquarters, currently in Surat Thani, will be moving to Mai Khao, where a 150-rai parcel of Treasury Department land has been put aside for the project.
Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit chaired a meeting on the move at Phuket Provincial Hall on October 9. He told the meeting that the upcoming moved reflected the policy of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok to establish Phuket as the center of tourism in Southern Thailand.
“Having the Royal Thai Police Region 8 headquarters here will further cement the island’s status as an international city and ensure that we have an adequate police presence to provide safety and security for residents and tourists alike,” he said.
Thanrong Thongtan, Chief of Phuket Treasury Office, said that transfer of the the 150-rai site earmarked for the new headquarters has already approved by his agency, which is responsible for holding under the Treasury Department’s State Property Management and Services (Ratchapassadu) Office.
The 150-rai plot is the last large Ratchapassadu plot left available for use in the province, he said.
“It’s very suitable because it’s near the main road. Normally, we would need about one rai for the office, but this site can serve as a regional police training center as well as it has enough room to build a shooting range and other necessary facilities,” he said.
Gov Niran concluded that that 150-rai site, located in front of the Mai Khao Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) building, was ideal for the new headquarters. Construction of the new headquarters is scheduled for completion by the end of fiscal 2008 under a 170-million-baht budget from the Royal Thai Police main headquarters in Bangkok.
Presence of the headquarters in the far north of the island is also expected to boost security at several other projects slated for or already in place there, including Phuket International Airport, an international conference and exhibition center, a sports training complex and the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization’s “Welcome Gate”.
Police Region 8 is the headquarters for police commands in all seven Upper South provinces: Surat Thani, Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Ranong, Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Chumphon.
