Evictions Continue as Funds Set for Chao Phraya Promenade

One of the eight riverside houses in Wat Chat Kaew Chongkonnee community is being demolished Thursday to pave the way for concrete walkway construction. Photo: PR Bangkok / Facebook

BANGKOK — City Hall continued to clear out riverside homes Thursday after announcing an estimated budget to pay for construction of the Chao Phraya promenade.

The cost of paying supervisors – estimated at 142 million baht – will be divided into four contracts to pay for the oversight of the 14-kilometer concrete walkway. During the weekend, City Hall started to tear down the homes to clear the way for construction. The budget for the project, which has yet to be approved by the interim cabinet, is estimated to be about 8.3 billion baht.

According to documents published Tuesday, the contractor is due to work for 540 days.

Read: Friends of Chao Phraya Explain Why They Hate ‘Highway on the River’

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Initiated by the junta as a national landmark, the concrete passage is planned to stretch for seven kilometers on both sides of the river. The first phase, expected to be completed in 2019, will run from the Rama VII to the Phra Pinklao Bridge.

The project has faced significant criticism for allegedly ignoring input from experts and neighborhoods concerning its potential impact on the environment, the local way of life and the scenery.

About 273 households in 14 communities will have to be evicted to pave the way for the construction. All of them must be gone by the end of July, City Hall said.

Despite living there for decades, many residents were forced to accept compensation and move out for failing to obtain legal rights to their homes – which also encroach into the river.

Since Saturday, City Hall has demolished at least 20 houses in the local community of Kiew Kai Ka. Work continued Thursday in the Wat Chat Kaew Chongkonnee community where eight households were made to relocate.

City Hall said it expects to finish the cost estimation for the walkway construction in July before arranging an auction to find contractors.

Riverside houses in Wat Chat Kaew Chongkonnee community is being demolished Thursday to pave the way for concrete walkway construction. Photo: PR Bangkok / Facebook
Riverside houses in Wat Chat Kaew Chongkonnee community is being demolished Thursday to pave the way for concrete walkway construction. Photo: PR Bangkok / Facebook

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