Call for stricter building law enforcement

PHUKET: Provincial government officials and the Phuket Real Estate Club today made a joint call for stricter enforcement of building regulations to be applied across the island.

At the weekly meeting of the heads of provincial government offices at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning, Chaloerm Rakmak of the provincial office of the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning, said, “Construction laws need to be more strictly enforced by local administration organizations [OrBorTor] – especially regarding buildings more than 80 meters above sea level.

“Our officers have noticed that there are many properties violating this law, among others.”

K. Chaloerm’s comments follow Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s call for stricter enforcement of building regulations after the flooding of Soi Siang Tai last month. An investigation into the cause of the flooding found that a nearby project had violated seven building code regulations.

Support for K. Chaloerm came from Phummisak Hongsyok, President of the Phuket Real Estate Club. “One problem is that the government is ignoring its own laws,” he said.

“For example, the Ao Phuket Development project is a government-controlled project. Areas near beaches are regulated with height restrictions for buildings, but government officials have exempted the height restriction for this project, while private investors are still required to adhere to the law.”

Prachiad Aksorntammakul of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Office suggested that a special provincial government committee be set up to review environmental protection laws regularly and to suggest changes to the local Department of Environment & Natural Resources office at least every five years.

He also called for OrBorTor to protect the environment better by conducting monthly inspection tours in order to monitor what is being built in their respective jurisdictions.