The Treasury Department is ready to expand property development to accommodate the government’s logistics development plan, saying it plans to develop a distribution network to link with the planned high-speed train routes.
The department, one of the country’s biggest property holders with 12.5 million rai nationwide, sees high potential in developing property projects in the provinces, particularly those where the government’s high-speed train routes cut through its land, said director-general Vinai Vithavaskarnvej.
“We have conducted a preliminary survey and found that there are possibilities in most of the provinces on the high-speed train routes. Since the government hopes the new train project will help improve the country’s logistic network, I think distribution centres and goods depots are the kinds of projects we could develop to support the government’s plan,” said Mr Vinai.
The high-potential projects, he added, would likely be on the 754-kilometre Bangkok-Chiang Mai and the 220-km Bangkok-Rayong routes.
The train projects are expected to start construction by the end of next year or early 2012 if the government is still in power.
As for its other projects, Mr Vinai said one of them is an office building located on five rai on Phahon Yothin road.
The 2.2-billion-baht project targets state agencies as its main clients, with a feasibility study conducted by Chulalongkorn University.
Based on green architecture design, the 24-storey building with 75,000 square metres in usable space will start construction in early 2011.
The department has also hired Thammasat University to conduct a feasibility study on a condominium project in the Phahon Yothin area.
For the government complex in Chaeng Watthana, managed by the department’s property development arm Dhanarak Asset Development, a bid will be called for the management and operation of a hotel, with 204 rooms and 38 conference rooms, at the centre.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/213403/rail-brings-opportunities
