Pattaya will spend another 5 million baht to hire another surveyor to appraise the damage and prospects for repair of the Bali Hai marina.
The 735-million-baht marina, built in phases between 2008 and 2013, has never opened due to repeated problems and funding shortages. Abandoned by both the city and its builder Ping Joint Venture Ltd., the small-boat harbor began to deteriorate and took critical damage from tropical depression Vamco is 2015.
Then acting-Mayor Chanatpong Sriviset appointed a survey committee to determine if the damage incurred sprung from design flaws or simply acts of nature. But the committee never completed its work and, thus, the repair budget was frozen.
Current Mayor Anan Charoenchasri said May 3 that the city has contacted Kasetsart University, the Royal Thai Navy and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang to cooperate on a new 5-million-baht survey that will definitively determine the reasons the marina sustained such severe damage in its short lifespan, and how much it will cost to fix, if possible.
But city council Chairman Anan Ankanawisan acknowledged that even if the contractor is found at fault, it likely won’t mean anything for Pattaya, as warranty claims had to have been filed within two years after completion.
