Pattaya officials have asked for more than 11 billion baht in government funding for infrastructure projects lumped under the Eastern Economic Corridor project.
City government and business leaders presented the budget request to Kasin Sarasin, chairman of the Tourism Council of Thailand and a consultant to the government on the EEC initiative, at a June 5 meeting at the Cape Dara Resort.
The EEC, laid out in a June 2016 Cabinet resolution, aims to promote and develop target industries on the Eastern Seaboard through public-private partnerships. Examples of such projects include expansion of the Buraphavithi Highway to U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya Airport, high-speed rail links, and expansion of the Burapha Highway from Rayong to U-Tapao.
Pattaya officials argue tourism should also be considered and said the government should give money to the city to fix its infrastructure woes to boost visitor numbers.
Officials requested 810 million baht for overhaul of Pattaya’s drainage system, 730 million baht to repair its neglected and poorly maintained sewage-treatment plant and a whopping 10.02 billion baht to replace the also-poorly maintained Bali Hai Pier.
The EEC’s Tourism Development and Promotion Committee will consider the requests at its next meeting.
