More than five months after Environment Department workers removed an abandoned pavilion and filled in holes caused by beach erosion, the city seems content to have forgotten Pratamnak Hill’s Yim Yom Beach.
Despite promises to repair Pratamnak Soi 5 beachfront’s footpaths and continue to remedy erosion, Yim Yom has deteriorated into an utter mess. Pavements are wrecks, holes in the sand are everywhere. And local vendors say no one from city hall has been there since the summer.
Despite promises to repair Pratamnak Soi 5 beachfront’s footpaths and continue to remedy erosion, Yim Yom Beach has deteriorated into an utter mess.
Chawalit Praditpruek, head of the Environment Department, said during the summer that the city was waiting on a 600 million baht budget to redevelop Jomtien and Pratamnak beaches. But with Pattaya’s beachfront repairs still far from completion, there’s no hint of when money for Jomtien will be coming.
“What actually happened to the 600 million budget?” one local vendor asked rhetorically. “It probably went into the sea.”
British tourist Chris Brown, who frequents the Yim Yom area, said a five-meter-long trench next to the footpath was dug out by storms during the rainy season. Two months later, it’s still there.
He said the city needs to pay more mind to beach maintenance, as holes and erosion can pose dangers for visitors.
