The Tourism and Sports Minister has admitted that our new Convention Centre, emerging slowly behind the Provincial Hall, Mae Rim, is almost 50% behind schedule, may not be finished until next year – and is asking for an extra 1.1 billion baht over budget to finish it off. It was all bad news this week from Chumpol Silpa-archa, whose Ministry began the project with a government grant of 1.8 billion baht.
Now the Minister wants to virtually double the budget to cover “infrastructure, interiors, public areas and protection from insects.” Building began 43 days late stated Chumpol, without giving a reason, and some work could not begin because architects’ designs did not match blueprints.
Intended to open in September, the Centre “could even be completed by next year” Chumpol was quoted as saying by ‘The Nation.’ Owners of the building, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, will have to pay fines of 6 million baht a month for each month of delay after September.
Editor’s Note: For residents of a city that coped for over 2 years with 2 partially completed, major under-passes on the Superhighway, this news will come as no surprise. At least there seems no risk of TAT going bust, like one of the under-pass contractors.
The French Carrefour retailing giant is planning to raise one billion dollars by selling all its superstores in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Reuters news agency has reported.
Competitors Auchan were the first big western retailers to open in Chiang Mai, bringing a wide range of European “comfort foods” to northern Thailand. Although popular, their performance failed to reach internal targets and they sold the premises on Superhighway to the Thai-Belgian Big C group.
Other French retailers have recently moved out of Japan and Korea, some seeking a more profitable future in India. Several Thai and international groups are reported to be showing interest in our local Carrefour.
Motor racing pays a rare visit to Chiang Mai next weekend with the arrival of the Toyota Motorsport 2010 road show.
It all happens at the 700 Year Sports Stadium over Saturday and Sunday, July 10-11, and the only sad faces belong to Drag Racing enthusiasts, whose monthly meeting has had to be postponed at short notice. Car and motorcycle drags (straight line racing against the clock) will instead take place on Sunday July 18th.
As well as top Thai racers dashing round the short circuit, a tour of the stadium’s car parks, there will be a safe driving exhibition, celebrity appearances, family fun activities and a live rock concert on Saturday evening.
Members of the local ‘Love Elephant Club’, and businesses depending on the animals, took a dozen elephants to the Provincial Hall to demonstrate their need for financial help to compensate for the lack of tourism.
The ‘Northern Part’ Thai newspaper reported that the elephant owners then wrote to the Prime Minister to state their case.
The past few weeks have seen an increase in night time street begging by elephants and their mahouts. This results from redundancies which have hit mahouts who own their own animals. However, a new law not only punishes the mahouts for this practice, but also anyone giving money for the elephants’ food.
It’s an ill wind that blows no-one any good
‘Northern Part’ added that the Sports and Tourism Office of Chiang Rai reported a 20% increase in Thai tourism during June, over the same month last year. The authority concluded that this was a ‘Bangkok exodus’ due to the demonstrations in the capital.
His Majesty the King is deeply concerned about the current drought and has specifically asked a close aide to investigate the situation at Mae Ngat dam, one of the main suppliers to Chiang Mai city.
The rainy season should have begun already and 60 of the 76 provinces of Thailand now face the worst drought for 20 years, reports the ‘Northern Part’ Thai language newspaper.
Almost 7.5 million people are facing serious water shortages and 522,563 rai of crops have been spoiled. One essential rice harvest has been lost from 63,133 rai, and another postponed.
Government aid of 579m baht has been allocated to farmers as compensation, but is generally considered to be insufficient.
Over 1,000 water tankers have been used to distribute water at government expense and repairs are being made to 4,960 dams. Chiang Mai is one of the northern provinces to which 713 pumps have been allocated by the Royal Irrigation Department.
The 17 northern provinces have a total of 7,729 villages – comprising 1.7 million people – suffering badly, but no help has reached them yet, the paper reported.
New dam plan for Ping River
A budget of 400 million baht has been allocated to build a new dam in the Ping River south of the Police Region 5 HQ. Negotiations on access and compensation are being held by the irrigation department with residents on both sides of the river.
The project will take over 2 years to complete, and include 8 sluice gates to feed up to 5 million cubic meters of stored water to surrounding areas, as and when required.
A young man who became fascinated by temple life as a small boy and became a Buddhist Abbot in his 20’s, has been awarded an Honorary Master of Engineering Degree by Rajabhat Lampang University.
Kruba ‘Noi’ Pairat of Wat Doi Noi (”the little hillside temple”) in Lamphun, just off the main road south from Chiang Mai to Lampang, has achieved unique feats since being installed at the temple 10 years
ago. Within 3 years he had organised the construction of an enormous Buddha figure – all within 24 hours – and started his own radio station.
He then appealed for donations of used cooking oil, from which he made bio-diesel and sold it from a pump just outside the temple grounds. He has initiated machines for planting rice, low-cost air-conditioners and is now producing petrol from waste plastic
He has created such a popular following that older temple members believe he is a reincarnation of Kruba Siwichai. The original “engineer monk” died just before World War II having built many monasteries, temples, and the winding road from Chiang Mai to the top of Doi Suthep.
As an Abbot, now aged 32, Kruba Noi is not allowed to wear the University robes presented to him last month, so members of his temple have bought him a wardrobe so they may be kept smartly!
Copyright: Derrick Titmus
Photo Copyright: Angsiyanan Oumpin
A German-born Australian national, resident in the Doi Saket suburb of Chiang Mai for many years, is due in court today charged with raping 3 under-aged Thai sisters.
Karl Joseph Kraus, a wheelchair user aged 90, has been allowed to stay in a hospital rather than a police cell since his arrest on Tuesday.
After complaints from the girls’ parents that the offences have taken place over the past 2 years, police raided the home of Mr Kraus.
Around 100 photographs were confiscated and there are conflicting reports on whether some are indecent or not.
Police also subjected the bedroom of Mr Klaus to modern ‘blue light’ tests for semen, and took his mattress to the police station.
In a phone call to his son in Australia, the accused laughed at the charges, denied them, and added that he was “at home in Perth” on some of the dates that offences were alleged to have taken place.
An official from the Australian Embassy is due to attend court, where Mr Kraus faces a minimum jail sentence of 35 years if found guilty.
“If the judge decides he is guilty, we have no suitable jail for anyone in this situation” said a policewoman. “It would be better if he were deported immediately, as I am sure that Australia has the right facilities.”
A Transport Ministry plan to invest 800 billion baht in a rail network allowing train speeds of 250km per hour is unlikely to serve Chiang Mai.
The latest twist after years of discussion is that a 937km route from Bangkok to Hat Yai on the Malaysian border would provide better returns than one from the capital to Chiang Mai.
As well as the long southern route and that to Chiang Mai, the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, are also considering Bangkok to Nong Khai, the border with Laos, and Bangkok to the coastal industrial city of Rayong.
Critics of the plan highlight the consistent targetting of railways in the south by insurgents and the commonplace damage to Thailand’s narrow tracks caused by heavy rains.
Editor’s Note: Despite promises by previous governments, few improvements have been made to the (mainly single line) service linking Chiang Mai with the capital since it opened in 1921. Journeys of around 12 hours duration are frequently hours late.
The Thai government’s Board of Investment will show how and why business should take an interest in Chiang Mai and the north at a unique presentation on July 16th.
The BOI offer tax breaks and other incentives to certain types of business at the start-up stage. Bangkok-based Director Khun Gorbsiree Iemsuree, speaker at a recent Chiang Mai conference on the rights of foreigners here, invites business-seekers to a morning packed with information at the Shangri-La Hotel, starting at 9.00am.
Potential investors can discover more by calling 053 203397-400 (exts 102 or 107) and should register by July 9th.
Police are targeting illegal bookmakers in the Mae Rim district of Chiang Mai, suspecting that they may be part of a 32.2 billion baht gambling spree based on the World Cup football series.
A week ago, no fewer than 247 suspected gamblers were arrested in Bangkok, plus 7 bookmakers and 5 debt collectors. Half a million baht was then in circulation, said the Metropolitan Police.
The Thai Government have already restricted access 200 websites suspected to be gambling related, and plain clothes police posing as gamblers have been sent to many locations.
Fines for gamblers are normally set at about 1,000b with the possibility of up to 1 year in jail.
Editor’s Note: All gambling is illegal in Thailand, except the national government lottery and on-course betting at the very few horse race courses.
