Pattaya will replace all the closed-circuit television cameras on Koh Larn, virtually none of which work due to neglect.
Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome and his top deputies toured the island Oct. 12, reviewing the many projects underway or planned to reshape the popular tourist destination before foreign tourists return next year.
The city already is replacing the pier at Ta Waen Beach, upgrading landscaping there and at Samae Beach, designing a new wastewater-treatment system and upgrading the island’s healthcare center.
New on the list is the replacement of cameras at 36 locations on the island, nearly all of which, Sonthaya admitted, don’t work. A combination of salt air and a lack of maintenance has left the cameras useless.
Pattaya already has received its 300-million-baht 2021 budget for Koh Larn and is out to start spending.
Nattapol Teerawuthworawej, director of the Koh Larn office, said the new cameras will be weather-sealed to better protect them. They also will have alarm speakers to alert tourists in case of emergencies.
As for the pier, the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism already has surveyed, studiedand designed the replacement for the existing jetty, but problems with the environmental-impact study have delayed progress.
Parts of the pier design must be changed before the report can win approval, Nattapol said.
As Thailand works on a “use it or lose it” budget-allocation system, Pattaya diverted 128 million baht of the pier funds to upgrade the Koh Larn health center.
Down the road, landscaping at Ta Waen and Samae beaches are in the final planning stages with work at Ta Waen set to begin in November and Samae afterward.
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