Chiang Mai centre faces delays

BANGKOK, 13 July 2010 – It is very unlikely that the Chiang Mai Convention Centre will be completed by September 2011 as stated in the contract terms, according to Minister of Tourism and Sports, Chumpol Silpaarcha.

Last week, a progress report confirmed that the building was only 11% complete when it should have reached the 20% mark to stand a chance of meeting the deadline next year.

Construction started at least 43 days behind the original schedule. The contractor blamed the delay on architectural design that failed to meet specifications in the blueprints.

“I don’t think the centre will be ready by next September. Though, if the contractors worked really fast, the job could  be completed by the end of next year,” the Minister told local news reporters during a visit to Chiang Mai.

He warned that the project owners, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, would ultimately face a Bt6 million per month fine if the project overran its deadline. In turn, TAT would fine the contractor to recoup its losses.

TAT is the official owner of the project, which was created to boost high revenue events and help the northern city become a meeting hub for the North and Mekong Region neighbouring countries.

The government is financing construction to the tune of Bt1.8 billion.

The Minister is concerned that the convention centre that is supposed to be fully operational to host the high profile flower show, Royal Flora Ratchaphruek in December 2011, might not be ready in time.

The overall construction cost is Bt1,867.15 million of which Bt457.45 million is for landscaping, Bt1,112.82 million for construction of the convention building, and Bt296.9 million for a new Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Centre for the northern region.

The site located on 326 rai of land at Nong Hor, Chang Puak, Muang district in Chiang Mai, close to the 700th Anniversary Stadium and Chiang Mai University.

The centre’s plenary hall will be able to accommodate up to 3,000 people.

Later this year, the TAT will need to decide how the convention centre will be managed. One option is to assign a private company such as the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre to manage, or TAT may decide to enter into a joint-venture with the private sector.

It was originally scheduled to open in 2008, in time to host the Asean Tourism Forum and kick-start Chiang Mai’s drive to become an event hub.