NAKHON RATCHASIMA — Community leaders from eight northern districts of Nakhon Ratchasima have strongly opposed a proposed move of Korat Expo 2029 from Khong district to Pak Chong, accusing the government of taking away a rare development opportunity from local residents.
The group said it was prepared to mobilise supporters from all 20 provinces in the Northeast if the Cabinet approves the relocation.
Arun Akkarapreedi, a leader of the protest group representing eight northern districts, said residents had closely followed developments surrounding the International Horticultural Expo, particularly reports that the venue could be moved from Khong to Pak Chong.
He criticised claims by the agriculture minister that the Khong site was not economically viable, reportedly citing assessments by the National Economic and Social Development Council.
“Not worthwhile for whom?” Arun said.
He argued that the eight districts had gone without a major development project of this scale for about a century and that the expo represented a rare opportunity to improve the quality of life of some 380,000 residents, as well as hundreds of thousands more in surrounding areas.
According to Arun, residents had already invested heavily in land, homestays and other preparations in anticipation of the event.
He accused the government of using the economic viability argument to favour “outside investors”, alleging that wealthy interests had benefited from encroachment on reserved forest land while local communities remained underdeveloped.
“If the government looks at this only from a business perspective, value will be measured in money and profit,” he said. “But if it looks at development, the happiness and prosperity of hundreds of thousands of people should matter more.”
Arun said residents felt as though their future and dreams were being “robbed” by the proposed relocation.
He urged decision-makers to explain whether the interests of 500,000 to 600,000 residents were being placed below those of private investors.
Khamphan Boonyuen, a retired civil servant and another leader of the group, said residents would “absolutely not accept” moving the expo to Pak Chong.
He said people had already invested time and money preparing homestays, restaurants and other businesses to serve visitors.
Khamphan described the eight northern districts as the “Africa of Korat”, referring to what he said was a long history of inadequate development.
He said former Nakhon Ratchasima governor Wichian Chantharanothai had previously sought to bring a major project to the area to raise local living standards.
If the relocation proposal is submitted to the Cabinet and approved, Khamphan said opponents plan to stage a symbolic protest on Tuesday and are prepared to mobilise people from all 20 northeastern provinces to oppose the move.