Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome claimed foreign companies are lining up for a chance to build a monorail in Pattaya.
He said initial feasibility studies have been conducted and that the planned mass-transit system would either be a tram on rubber wheels, monorail or maglev system. No funding has been budgeted and the earlier projected completion date of 2026 is now just a pipedream.
Nonetheless, Sonthaya claimed March 6 that many foreign investors are clamoring to join a public-private partnership that will likely come into being next year with another 5 years to complete the construction.
The project’s proposal calls for three routes linking Naklua, Pattaya and Jomtien Beach and connecting to the high-speed railway to U-Tapao-Rayong-Pattaya Airport.
Sonthaya said that construction would start at the Pattaya train station on Soi Siam Country Club with the first route built stopping at Bali Hai Pier, Second Road, North Road, and Highway 7.
He said the investment for such a project would be about 20 billion baht.
Again, at this point, Pattaya’s monorail is little more than hopes, dreams and speculation. The city last month paid 1.9 million baht to buy out the contract of its first consultant hired to do the feasibility study. No new study will be done until a new contract is put out for bid, and theirs is still no timeframe for that.
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