Phuket Set to Benefit Big Time, Says PM's Anchalee
By Chutima Sidasathian
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Prominent Phuket spokesperson Anchalee Vanich: time to get it right
Photo by phuketwan.com
THAILAND'S Cabinet decided this week to invest billions more in tourism and agriculture, businesswoman and former Phuket politician Anchalee Vanich said today on a Phuket visit.
''There is a good chance of Phuket achieving everything it needs,'' said Khun Anchalee, who this year became the first Thai woman to serve as secretary-general to a prime minister. ''Phuket people need to decide what they want to be and what they want to do.''
The timing had never been better for Phuket to determine its own future and achieve infrastructure funding, she said.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand had announced earlier today that 15.5 million tourists visited Thailand in 2010 and one in three of those would spend time in the Andaman region, she said.
''Phuket is the welcoming lobby for the rest of the country,'' she said. ''The PM is very concerned about development. Phuket grows every day, day by day.
''If someone has not been here for two years then returns, you can see how much it has changed.''
The speed of Phuket development and its difference with the rest of the country was specifically discussed at Tuesday's Cabinet gathering, she said.
Phuket has 10 billion baht being spent in large infrastructure projects, including 5.7 billion for the enlarged Phuket International Airport, she said. ''The airport enlargement will be on time because the budget has been locked in to delivering on schedule,'' she added.
The 2.6 billion baht sports complex set for Mai Khao in northern Phuket will be fully contracted before September, she said. ''Don't think about it only for Phuket,'' she said. ''It will also be shared by Phang Nga and Krabi.''
On the issue of Phuket's rival Bali declaring a moratorium on hotel construction, she told Phuketwan that Phuket people needed to clarify for themselves what was required, both within Thailand and in the broader context of the entire Asean region.
While Phuket needed to improve its public transport, the future of Phuket could be dramatically changed within the space of five years, she said.
Khun Anchalee flew back to Bangkok after joining Patong Mayor Pian Keesin and other prominent local officials in opening the 29.4 million baht Patong Municipality Child Care Centre II in Prabaramee Road.
Credit: Phuket Wan (phuketwan.com)
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