Rolly Tasker donates land for Phuket road project

PHUKET CITY: Rolly Tasker Sails Co Ltd yesterday morning donated eight rai of land to the state for construction of a second airport road.

Company founder Mr Tasker, an Australian sailing legend, handed over the title deeds to Phuket Governor Wichai Praisa-ngop at a ceremony at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday morning.

Gov Wichai has pushed for the new new airport road project since taking office earlier this year.

The new road would run parallel to Thepkrasattri Rd for about 20 kilometers and cost an estimated 400 million baht, not including land acquisition.

Gov Wichai said the development project has been widely accepted by the public, with 12 land donations since it was first announced in late June.

The majority of the land needed for the project is administered by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, but the proposed route also cuts though 210 plots of private land: 177 in Thalang district and 33 in Muang District.

Mr Tasker, a 17-year resident of Phuket, said he wanted to help Gov Wichai deal with traffic issues facing Phuket now and in the future.

“When I heard about the land donation to support the Governor’s project, I did not hesitate to donate my land,” he said

Mr Tasker also showed Gov Wichai plans for his company’s land to be separated into two plots, the proposed new road dividing his holdings.

Governor Wichai admitted some land owners had refused to turn over their holdings without compensation and some cases were already in the the court system.

He said he would meet hold out land owners personally to try and resolve the dispute.

Plans by Rolly Tasker Sails to open another sail making facility in Phuket would not be affected by the new road, Mr Tasker said.

He expects his new factory, to be located near the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew, to be completed within two years.

— Kamol Pirat