Pattaya has big plans to improve Koh Larn during the current pause in tourism, but lack of any real movement likely will mean few of the projects will be complete before tourists return next year.
Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome laid out the city’s vision at the Sept. 16 Pattaya Business & Tourism Association meeting at the Sunshine Garden Resort.
The island this year will see a fifth or less of the usual number of visitors, a perfect time to reassess the island’s tourism plan which has created nightmarish garbage and pollution problems.
Most improvements, however, are in the planning stage and await budget approvals.
Topping the list of needs is a waste-to-energy incinerator, Sonthaya said. However, there are no concrete estimates on when such a facility may be built. In the interim, the island’s current landfill will be expanded to bury the remaining trash there.
The interior ministry has approved the construction of 2 incinerators with the capacity of eliminating 30 tons of waste per day. A contractor is being sought for this contract.
Sewage treatment also needs to be expanded, he said. There currently are treatment plants at Tawan and Samae beaches, but lack the total capacity to serve the island. Sonthaya hopes to obtain funding through the government’s Eastern Economic Corridor initiative.
The only project actually moving forward is a new main pier for the island, which is in the design phase, he said. A 2 million baht budget has been allocated to this project.
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