With its rising popularity – and number of problems – Koh Larn could be split off into its own district under a plan being considered by Chonburi, Banglamung District and Pattaya City officials.
Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh met March 21 with District Chief Chakorn Kanchawattana, attorneys and residents of the island to discuss the idea suggested by Gov. Khomsan Ekachai.
Ronakit Eaksingh, deputy mayor of Pattaya and Chakorn Kanchanawatta, Banglamung district chief held a meeting to discuss the possibilities of Koh Larn becoming a district.
Chakorn said the resort island has become very popular with tourists and many residents live there full time, as well.
As a result, there are not enough public facilities, too few local authorities and maintenance of existing infrastructure is poor. Problems have been building for a while, so the governor insisted that Pattaya and Banglamung discuss the possibility of incorporating the island zone into a district municipality.
If it were spun-off into its own entity, Koh Larn authorities would be able to work together to develop the community and request their own budget.
However, the meeting was an exploratory effort designed to gather early opinions of the proposal. A survey will be conducted in the near future and opinions from local residents gathered as well.
With a change in Pattaya’s leadership coming, any plan to radically change the structure of the city would seem unlikely until new elections are held sometime next year.
