Having cleared encroachments around Big Buddha Hill’s Chinese shrine, Pattaya now is trying to figure out what to do with the land.
Deputy mayors Manote Nongyai and Pattana Boonsawat toured the Phra Yai Temple area with engineering and public works staffers on Pratamnak Hill March 28 with an eye toward redevelopment of the wat, the Wang Sam Sien Chinese shrine and Attajinda Road.
Pattaya was given five rai of Ministry of Defense land from the Royal Thai Navy. After the rights were transferred, Pattaya improved the landscaping but found numerous private ventures had built on part of the land. The city ordered all the structures removed in October 2016.
Among them was the popular Wang Sam Sien, built by the Mahakitpaisan Foundation. In July 2016, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld a lower court’s verdict against Mahakitpaisan for building the shrine on public land and gave it to Pattaya.
The city originally planned to raze the shrine, but reversed course and will now manage it directly. Now it is looking to beautify landscaping and add facilities to bring more tourists to the area.
