The government is being urged to promote the establishment of an urban development corporation, amend some city zone regulations and extend the period of leasehold contracts to make developments surrounding Bang Sue station more attractive for investment.

Atip Bijanonda, chairman of the committee for real estate development at the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the development plan for areas surrounding the station is very attractive.

“The greatest benefits will be within a five-kilometer radius of the station. These locations will be the cream of the crop,” he said.

But the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) should not develop the area in a piecemeal fashion, but rather the entire zone all at once to make it more attractive for investment said Mr. Atip.

The SRT said development of the Bang Sue station and surrounding areas will cover plots totaling 2,325 rai.

On 200 rai, SRT is building the central station, where three existing mass transit lines — Green, Blue, and Purple — will connect with the Red Line, which will be added on completion in 2019. Over the next 15 years, there will be 10 mass transit lines connected at the station.

The remaining plots are planned for property development into four zones, comprising zone A on 35 rai on the south of the central station, which will be developed as a transport hub.

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittaya-paisith yesterday said the terms of reference for the public-private partnership scheme for the development of the first zone or zone A is being drafted and will be completed in four months.

Deputy governor Worawut Mala said the SRT will seek a developer through bidding to develop commercial spaces in zone A as SRT had no experience or know-how in large-scale commercial development.

“We have only done fresh markets,” he said. “In one of the four zones, a Japanese adviser suggested we open a convention center to attract related businesses.”

Mr Atip, also president of the Housing Business Association, said the government should support the establishment of an urban development corporation (UDC) to host the development of areas surrounding Bang Sue station.

“Many overseas countries have established UDCs to develop large-scale projects, such as the Docklands in London. UDC will develop utilities and allow other investors to develop the property,” he said.

He suggested an amendment in the city zone regulations to limit the maximum parking space for commercial development in areas surrounding stations to force travelers to use mass transit lines instead of personal cars.

The city zoning laws require specified numbers of car park spaces at large-scale buildings.

As the plots surrounding Bang Sue station are owned by SRT, a leasehold contract period should be extended for over 30 years to make investments more attractive, said Mr Atip.

source: https://property.bangkokpost.com/news/1461769/bang-sue-area-plans-being-formed-to-lure-investment