File photo: Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt
The new Bangkok city plan, set to take effect from next year, will bring significant changes to zones across the capital, sparking strong opposition from various groups, including the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC).
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has vowed to press ahead with the plan despite opposition but promised to listen to the voices of all stakeholders.
“Let’s move forward and fix what we can now. But if you are unhappy about some aspects, then we can address those issues in the next five years,” he said.
Chadchart was speaking after receiving a letter of opposition to the new blueprint from numerous organisations.
What changes will the plan bring?
Drawn up by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the plan will cover the entire 1,658-square-kilometre area of the city and replace the 2013 zoning map.
The biggest changes under the draft plan will affect Rattanakosin Island, the Ratchayothin area, Don Mueang district, the Lat Phrao-Ram Indra zone, Srinakarin area, Min Buri district, Taling Chan-Thawee Watthana districts, Wong Wian Yai, Suksawat, and floodways.
The draft plan would change the designation of Yaowarat (Chinatown) and Bang Lamphu to densely populated zones, allowing the construction of more commercial and government buildings in the historic heart of the city.
Ratchayothin would also be redesignated a densely populated zone, while Don Mueang, Lat Phrao-Ram Indra, Srinakarin and several other areas would be upgraded from sparsely populated to moderately populated zones, allowing for more development.
The draft also offers a FAR (Floor-to-Area Ratio) bonus to property developers who agree to incorporate spaces for public benefit into their projects.
A FAR bonus allows more floor area to be built on a given piece of land than normally permitted, meaning taller buildings.
Opponents speak out
Itthaboon Onwongsa, deputy secretary general of the TCC, has voiced concern about the impacts of urban development on national cultural heritage in Bang Lamphu and Yaowarat.
He noted too that the new plan paves the way for the Port Authority of Thailand to expand its operations at the expense of low-income and deprived communities in Bangkok’s Klong Toei district.
Another concern was measures contained in the plan to ease traffic congestion in the capital. “We are also worried about the expansion of 148 roads,” Itthaboon said.
Klayo Thongsom, a land and property appraisal expert, called the road expansion plan excessive, saying it would require the eviction of numerous residents. “But if authorities insist on expanding roads and resorting to eviction, they must issue clear compensation guidelines,” he said.
Kongsak Sahasakmontri, who sits on the TCC panel on property and residential units, said the widening of city roads would also open the way to construction of more high-rise buildings.
“When homes are surrounded by large buildings, locals often feel they have no choice but to move out,” he said.
Itthaboon suspects, too, that the FAR bonus is designed to favour developers rather than the public interest.
MP Nuttapong Premphunsawad of the People’s Party said there was a risk that property developers permitted to build higher buildings in exchange for incorporating public spaces could decide to take back those spaces later.
“As far as I know, the property owners retain ownership of the plots allocated for public use [under the FAR bonus],” he said.
Nuttapong said the BMA should monitor the usage of public spaces pledged by property developers to ensure that they are actually benefiting the public.
“If owners take back those spaces, they should be fined or forced to take corrective measures,” he said.
City Hall’s defence
Deputy Bangkok Governor Wisanu Subsompon rejects claims that the new city plan favours commercial developers over the interests of residents.
He said landlords benefiting from the new zoning rules would be required to share those benefits with city residents, for example by setting aside green spaces for the public to enjoy or constructing accessible walkways across their plots.
“The FAR bonus will end up benefiting everyone,” he said.
Wisanu noted that the current city plan had been in effect for over 10 years and said it needed to be overhauled to reflect social and economic changes in Bangkok.
“In principle, we should actually be updating the city plan every five years,” he said. “We need to keep pace with changing context to accommodate economic and population growth.”
Thaiwut Khankaew, director of the BMA's City Planning and Development Department, said the new plan took into account various challenges to the city’s development – including inequality.
“We have included more land plots to build small townhouses for low-income earners across the capital,” he said. He also pledged that all concerns about the draft plan would be considered and addressed.
Among those concerns is the plan to reduce the city’s floodways – areas designed to drain or store floodwater – from 90,000 rai to 30,000 rai.
Thaiwut said the reduction would not cause more flooding since the areas that would lose floodway status had fallen into disuse. Regarding the plan to expand 148 roads, Thaiwut said 97 of these roads could be widened without any residents being evicted.
The road-widening would also encourage new property projects to be set back from roads with attractive landscaping, while also allowing for public infrastructure development.
“As for the remaining roads, eviction would take place over several decades and only happen where absolutely necessary,” he said.
Public participation faked?
Kongsak of the TCC said the law requires that the public should participate in preparing a new city plan from the pre-drafting stage.
“But no community representative in my circle took part in the pre-drafting process,” he said.
Community leaders complained they could not participate or express opinions in the early stages of preparation because they were unaware that work on the map had already started, he added.
“Why didn’t you ask for public opinions first? Why didn’t you let people who will be affected know?” Kongsak asked.
He described public forums held in Bangkok’s 50 districts on the new map as mere rituals, conducted to give the appearance of public participation. “They [the BMA] had already prepared everything, and then presented it for easy discussion,” Kongsak said.
TCC secretary-general Saree Aongsomwang said that after monitoring the plan’s preparations closely, her organisation had realized it was not going to solve any of the city’s deep-rooted problems regarding traffic, water-management, and residential overcrowding.
Kongsak warned the TCC would consider legal action if the BMA pressed ahead with implementing the plan in its current form.
