Bangkok City Hall’s ambition to build a promenade along both sides of the Chao Phraya River has hit a snag, after the Administrative Court ordered a temporary halt to its development on Wednesday, on the grounds that it is against the law.

The court ruled that the 14-billion baht promenade, which consists of two elevated walkways, complete with a bicycle lane running for 57 kilometres along both sides of the river, does not qualify as a river pier in accordance with the Navigation Act.

Instead, the court ruled that the promenade is a building, under the Building Control Act, under which City Hall must submit the blue prints of the project and environmental impact studies for approval before development work commences.

All work on the promenade project is suspended until there is further order from the court.

Opponents of the project, known as the Friends of the River, took the case to the Administrative Court wanting the project scrapped, accusing the City Administration of rushing the development without a study of its environmental and social impacts.