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- Phuket News
ICEC location down to two sites
PHUKET CITY: After studying four proposed locations for the long-awaited Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC), project investor ING Funds (Thailand) Co Ltd has whittled the field down to just two sites: Anuphas and Sons’ 250 rai off Chao Fa West Rd in Wichit and 130 rai of government land at Tah Chat Chai.The announcement was made at a…
- Phuket News
Loans offered to hard-hit shrimp farmers
PHUKET: With shrimp prices still on the skids, the Phuket Internal Trade Office (PITO) have announced that they will now accept shrimp as collateral for loans requested by registered shrimp farmers in Phuket.During a Governor Meets the Press meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall, PITO Chief Somphot Sangkhapong said that the office will accept Pacific white shrimp, also known as white…
- Phuket News
Good news for gun enthusiasts
KATHU: A three-story building under construction on the eastern side of Patong Hill will become Phuket’s third shooting range, the Gazette has learned.Work on the 45-million-baht Patong Shooting Range is about 70% complete, said project owner Somchit Sucharitjiravongse.Honorary Secretary of the Trang Chamber of Commerce, K. Somchit is a shooting enthusiast who has represented Thailand in international competitions. He aims to help…
- Phuket News
US donates bomb blanket to Phuket police
PATONG: A US Embassy official yesterday morning presented a “bomb blanket” to Kathu Police Station in a ceremony attended by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Decha Budnampetch.Scott Bernat, Chief of the Naval Security Force Protection Detachment at the US Embassy in Bangkok, told the Gazette that the blanket – technically known as a “bomb suppression blanket” – is made…
- Phuket News
Welcome Gate to officially open
TAH CHAT CHAI: More than three years after it was initially conceived, the Phuket Welcome Gate will have its grand opening ceremony on the auspicious date of September 9. The gate, proposed and championed by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutra, will welcome tourists onto the island with a history of the province and a rest stop area.The…
- Phuket News
TDA teaches sea gypsies to dive
RAWAI: Twenty villagers from Rawai’s sea gypsy community are taking part in a five-day dive course that kicked off with a ceremony Thursday morning presided over by Minister of Tourism and Sports Dr Suwit Yodmanee.The training, being held jointly by the Thai Diving Association (TDA) and the Phuket Office of Sports and Recreation Development, is intended to give the sea…
- Phuket News
Taiwanese businessman shot
WICHIT: The Taiwanese owner of a fish export business is fighting for his life at Phuket International Hospital after being shot by unknown assailants on Chao Fa West Rd yesterday morning.Phuket City Police Duty Inspector Pol Lt Sathid Noorid identified the victim as 48-year-old Hsueh Hsu Sheng, a resident of Baan Suan Thai housing estate off Chao Fa West Rd.Mr…
- Phuket News
Dog shelter begging for attention
THALANG: Phuket’s uncared-for canines are last in line for handouts as funding dries up and food supplies dwindle at the Mid Road Dog Shelter in Baan Kanoon, Thalang.The shelter – managed by the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) and where registered animal welfare charity Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) have operated from since January – is currently home to more than…
- Phuket News
Call for Phuket tourism businesses to go “green’
PHUKET: A Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) seminar held at The Metropole hotel on Tuesday brought together academics and members of the tourism sector to discuss global warming effects in Phuket, where an estimated 344 million tonnes of greenhouse gases are produced every year, said Nisanat Sathirakul, deputy secretary general at the Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and…
- Phuket News
Convention center proposals fail to hit pay dirt
PHUKET: Three firms have proposed sites for Phuket’s International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC), but none afford the sea views that have long been considered a ‘must’ for the project.Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, who heads a committee formed to make a final decision on where to site the project, yesterday afternoon heard the proposals at a meeting at Phuket Provincial…
- Phuket News
New bus station planned near Supercheap
RASSADA: The Phuket Provincial Transport Office (PPTO) has agreed to buy 10 rai of land near Supercheap on Thepkrasattri Rd to build a new inter-provincial bus station.The existing bus station, on Phang Nga Rd in Phuket City, will be used for only local buses, vans and songtaew, most of which now leave from Ranong Rd.PPTO chief Chatchawarn Ngarmtup told the Gazette…
- Phuket News
Locals “uninformed’ about Ao Phuket project
PHUKET CITY: A public opinion survey conducted by researchers from the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) found that 86% of people who stand to be affected by the proposed Ao Phuket development plan said they knew little or nothing about the project drawn up by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).After being brought up to…
- Phuket News
German to be deported over no work permit
PHUKET CITY: German architect Frank Witzel is awaiting deportation following his arrest on June 22 by Immigration officials. He had been arrested in February as well, for working without a work permit while on a building site in Patong, and for performing work prohibited to foreigners. Witzel had pleaded guilty to the charges in court in February. He was fined 1,000 baht and handed a one-month…
- Phuket News
Phuket to have biggest aquarium in Southeast Asia
BANGKOK (The Nation): Ripley Entertainment, operator of Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, plans to build and open a 2.1-billion-baht aquarium in Phuket within three years.The firm will enter into a joint venture with Thailand-based conglomerate Minor International Plc, the franchisee of the Ripley museum in Pattaya.The aquarium project will be Ripley’s second property in Thailand and its first aquarium…
- Phuket News
The Sultan floats again!
PATONG: Eleven days after the 38-foot sailboat Sultan beached at the south end of Patong during a storm, salvage efforts at high tide around midday yesterday finally saw her afloat and sailing for safer waters.Sultan made landfall on Patong Beach about 1 am on June 19 after its anchor chain snapped during strong winds and large waves in Patong Bay.Skipper…
- Phuket News
Krabi Airline to debut November 1
BANGKOK (The Nation): Soon to be Thailand’s newest carrier, Krabi Airlines is now being set up and plans to begin flight service to international destinations starting on November 1, just in time for the start of the 2007-2008 high season.Civil Aviation Department Director General Chaisak Angkasuwan said the airline, with four investors, including former Thai Airways International employee Kosol Vongsrisart,…
- Phuket News
Beauty applied
PATONG: Twenty-four beauties from Southern Thailand on Sunday signed up at Jungceylon to enter the Miss Thailand World 2007 beauty pageant organized by Thai TV Channel 3 and BEC Tero Entertainment.The applicants, from 17 to 24 years old, came from as far as Trang, Surat Thani and Songkhla hoping to be named to be the most beautiful woman in the…
- Phuket News
Phuket shrines to make Chinese-style Jatukham amulets
PHUKET CITY: Three Chinese shrines on the island are joining forces to make Chinese-style versions of the popular Jatukham Ramathep amulet in order to raise money to build a 60-million-baht VIP wing at Vachira Phuket Hospital. A press conference was held at Pud Jor Shrine on June 18 to describe the amulet-making process and inform the public how to reserve…
- Phuket News
Gold shops get cheaper insurance
PHUKET: Gold shop owners on Phuket have agreed to increase their security measures in exchange for discounted insurance premiums from the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Insurance.Phuket Gold Shop Association Chairman Chaiyoot Prayoonyong stated that the slowdown of the economy has increased the risk of robbery nationwide and that gold shop owners have agreed to upgrade their security, by installing…
- Phuket News
Korea pushes for more Thai tourists
PHUKET CITY: The Bangkok office of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), Korean Air and Sun Moon Tours & Travel joined forces to promote Thai tourism to Korea with an industry event at The Metropole Hotel on Thursday.Kang Sung-Ghil, Director of the KTO’s Bangkok Office said, “Phuket is one of our main markets for MICE [meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions], especially…
- Phuket News
City fresh market vendors to relocate
PHUKET CITY: Vendors at the fresh market on Ranong Rd, in the heart of Phuket City, will relocate to a temporary market set up for them on Wirat Hongyok Rd from June 17.The temporary market, opposite Suan Luang Park, has been set up by Phuket City Municipality to minimize inconvenience for shoppers while the municipality builds new market buildings at…
- Phuket News
Anchalee’s husband loses Supreme Court land case
BANGKOK: (The Nation, Gazette) The Supreme Court yesterday upheld an Appeal Court ruling that ordered Tossaporn Thepabutr and his associates to vacate 98 rai of land near the Kata Viewpoint.The Supreme Court yesterday morning read its verdict on the lawsuit between the Provincial Land Reform Office (PPLRO) and Tossaporn, husband of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President and former Democrat Party…
- Phuket News
New airport terminal ready for business
PHUKET: The expansion of the international passenger terminal at Phuket International Airport has been completed and is expected to be open for the upcoming high season, Phuket International Airport Director Sq/Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree told the Gazette today.The 120-million-baht expansion started in April 2004 and the building was completed earlier this year, he said.The ground floor of the new wing features check-in…
- Phuket News
Local administrations to fund CCTV expansion
PHUKET: Following the installation 48 closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras covering parts of Phuket City, Patong and Kata-Karon, local administrations across the island are preparing to fund 180 more cameras to improve security in their jurisdictions.Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima yesterday chaired a meeting on ways to fund installation of CCTV cameras at “risk” areas across the island by year’s end. Attending…
- Phuket News
Police push for 180 more CCTV cameras
PHUKET: After hailing as a success the installation of 48 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras around the island, Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent of General Staff Pol Col Peerayut Karajedee on Friday announced that police are now looking to install 180 more public surveillance cameras.At the monthly Governor Meets the Press meeting, Col Peerayut said that the 48 cameras installed in Phuket…
- Phuket News
Private funding offered for convention center
NAI YANG: Phuket’s decades-old of dream of having an International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) took a step forward on May 28, when Tourism and Sports Minister Suwit Yodmanee ordered the formation of a provincial committee and gave it 60 days to decide where the center should be sited.The move follows a May 25 meeting of ING Funds (Thailand) Co…
- Phuket News
Villagers back Yamu marina plan
PHUKET CITY: In the latest in a back-and-forth dispute between opposing village groups, developers and the governmen, about 200 villagers from Baan Yamu in Pa Khlok staged a peaceful demonstration outside the Phuket Provincial Hall on May 29 to show their support for a controversial marina project at Cape Yamu. The planned 60-million-baht project, to be constructed by The Yamu…
- Phuket News
OrBorTor Wichit aspires to municipality status
PHUKET: The President of Wichit Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has requested for the Governor of Phuket to upgrade the OrBorTor to the status of a town municipality, skipping the usual tambon municipality step. The upgrade is needed to reflect the rapid growth of the area’s economy and population, OrBorTor President Kreetha Saetan claims.Phuket Muang District Chief Wirawat Janpen, however, advised…
- Phuket News
Gulu’s goal: to bring mega-yachts to Phuket
KOH KAEW: Royal Phuket Marina (RPM) developer Gulu Lalvani yesterday held a press conference to outline his vision to develop Phuket as the world’s top yachting destination – including his plan to build Zoran Island, a new island off the coast to site a deluxe marina complex capable of berthing mega-yachts.“I am very pleased that at the beginning of this…
- Thailand News
Miniature elephant or mammoth scam?
TAK: Taking a break from bashing his cousins in the Karen National Union, a sergeant major from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) reportedly crossed the Thai border recently with an unusual piece of merchandise, one he came to hawking at an extraordinary price. Sgt Maj Tinai, from the DKBA 999 Division, claimed to be in possession of none other…