News, puffery, lies or the truth?

[teelack]

I hope that Pattaya news will forgive me for lifting this story. 

Pattaya.

Nikkei Asian Review released an article this week in which they stated that the head of the cities Business and Tourism Association has forecast a total of 19 million visitors to the city this year, a 5% total increase, which is nearly half of the total predicted 40 million visitors.

Significant work is being done to draw Indian, Muslim and Chinese tourists to the city as a quick walk down Walking Street will show any visitor.

CP, a $63 billion food and retail group, intends to reshape the flows of people and goods through the region of Chon Buri. A high-speed rail and related projects are designed to attract business professionals, entrepreneurial talent and tourists to the area. CP decides the number of train stations, giving the group the power to determine which areas will be developed.

Nikkei Asian Review wrote:

Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group plans to build a huge commercial and residential complex in the beach city of Pattaya, the Nikkei Asian Review has learned, a project expected to boost the profitability of a $7.3 billion high-speed rail line that the company has been chosen to construct.

The complex, on a size larger than 480,000 sq. meters will include a shopping mall, hotel, cinemas, and a convention center. The investment budget will be at least 10 billion baht ($327 million), a Pattaya city source said.

Though CP lacks railroad experience, it has won a contract to connect three international airports, two near Bangkok and the other south of Pattaya. The railway is expected to start operation in 2024.

The planned mixed-use complex offers a way to boost the line’s profitability. Tourists could take the train to the shopping and entertainment destination, while residents could commute to the airports or other parts of Thailand.

Pattaya, about 160 km southeast of the capital, serves as a gateway of sorts to Thailand’s eastern seaboard, where automobile, consumer electronics, and other manufacturing industries began concentrating in the 1990s.

The original article can be found here: https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Thailand-s-CP-plans-330m-seaside-hub-linked-to-high-speed-rail?fbclid=IwAR0ILznGlLIL34bFJ-6PLJ6PD0OjZ7WEMfeQ4ciHu2tBbgr9zxybaMrqwH4

The Thai cabinet approved the train deal between CP and the State Railway of Thailand in June. The contract is due to be signed by both parties this month. The China Railway Construction company is also involved in a consortium to build the railway. The rail is expected to be finished in 2024.

[jacko]

Oh I expect it is true. You can see all the construction around the area if one ventures further East. Where I am is a bloody nightmare at the moment due to road construction and pipe laying. Another Mall in Pattaya sounds a bit silly though.