Dual expansion at Krabi Boat Lagoon

PHUKET: Two exciting projects will be unveiled by Krabi Boat Lagoon shortly, with one being a beach club near the marina and the other a third condominium building at the marina itself.

Ms Sriya Yongsakul, Krabi Boat Lagoon’s deputy managing director, said at an exclusive interview with the Gazette last week that the long beachfront plot where the beach club is currently being constructed is close to the marina, with condominium residents and marina clients able to reach it in five minutes via a boat shuttle.

“Today, plots like this are hard to find. There will be a pool, restaurant, beach club and a kilometer-long beach so visitors can go for walks there.

“Outsiders, too, could spend their days off there and undertake activities at the beach club.”

This new facility in Krabi, which is just an hour’s boat-ride from Phuket and two and a half hours by road, is expected to be completely built by January 2016.

Ms Sriya also confirmed that Building C of the The Cleat condominium at the Krabi marina will be launched early next year, as all the units in Building A and 60 per cent in Building B have already been sold.

These are three-story, low-density residences with Building A having only 20 units and Building B, 23. Sizes range from 38-square-meter studios to 110 sqm duplex penthouses with their own rooftops.

“We are still designing the product so that it differs from buildings A and B. While it has not been finalized how many units there will be, we do expect to offer bigger penthouses so that they look luxurious and have more usable space.

“And there is flexibility for those who talk to us now because we could customize the unit for them.”

Pertinently, she did mention that the price would be close the previous levels, starting at 80,000 baht a sqm for studios.

Buyers also have an option of entering a rental pool, although no guaranteed return is offered. It is noteworthy that the developer is unlikely to build a hotel at this marina because the company already owns two in Krabi, the 160-room Holiday Inn Resort Ao Nang and the 220-room Holiday Inn Express.

In Phuket, this developer has the Boat Lagoon Resort and Phuket Center Apartments.

“Right now we have about 10 units for daily rentals and this is not a lot considering the location, as we can accommodate 180 boats. If you are talking about Phuket, the marina here can berth 330 motor yachts.”

Up to 80 per cent of Krabi Boat Lagoon clients are from Australia and Europe where sailing, sometimes around the world, and marine tourism are well-entrenched.

“They come and dock here for maintenance because this is very important and has to be done every year. It’s the same as a car, you have to take it to the workshop to get the engine tuned and the body checked once a year.

“Thai workmanship is as good as elsewhere with the fees also being in a good range. At the same time they get a chance to holiday here.”

While previously few Thais were interested in sailing, mainly because they wanted to maintain a fair complexion, even though His Majesty the King is a keen sailor, this sport has steadily become more popular.

“At Krabi Boat Lagoon we have a sailing school and there are both Thai and foreign students.

“We also have a kayak service to go along the waterways in the reserve forests, pass through mountains and caves, see monkeys and wildlife, so this is good eco-tourism.”

— Nina Suebsukcharoen