An old article on Sathon Unique Tower. Published in Bangkok Post on 14 September 2007 ANCHALEE KONGRUT Ghosts of the crash of 97 Few developers are willing to breathe life into old buildings left abandoned Abandoned for a decade, Sathon Unique resembles the home of a lost civilisation, not the upscale condominium it was supposed to be. Banyan trees surround it. Ancient Greek-style columns are now littered with graffiti _ one column features an alien image and another a drawing of the Hindu god Ganesh. The area designated as a lobby is dark and the only sign of a blessing is a statue of Phra Siam Dhevatirat, sacred guardian for Thais, near the entrance. ``There should have been two statues guarding the entrance doors as a sign of a blessing. But the economic crisis in 1997 disrupted construction. The developer abandoned the site before bringing in the second statue, said Suthep Karnjana, 37, who guards the 49-storey building. No one knows when the building, which is in a prime location opposite Taksin skytrain station, will be re-developed. Interested investors have dropped by to have a look but nothing has happened, said Mr Suthep, who has worked at the site for over seven years. Despite his efforts, thieves have made off with construction parts and decoration items. They also broke all the windows. About 600 toilets on the upper floors were looted. All electric wires and steel cables were stolen, too. Many abandoned projects encounter a similar fate as thieves loot the sites, stealing precious construction items. Sathon Unique is among the 508 buildings abandoned by developers following the 1997 economic crisis. The projects were taken over by the Financial Sector Restructuring Authority (FRA) _ the state debt restructuring arm, which auctioned them to financial institutions at cheap prices. Sathon Unique was auctioned at 70 million baht while the real value of the project was put at 1.8 billion baht, said Rangsan Torsuwan, original developer of the project. Many unfinished buildings have been left untouched even after the economy picked up. Of the total 508 unfinished buildings, only 380 were re-developed while the remaining 128 in 76 projects still have an uncertain future which has raised public fears about the safety of abandoned structures. In most cases, new owners keep these buildings in the hope the price will go up. An investigation of auction fraud allegedly committed by FRA executives gave some hope to the original developers, including Mr Rangsan, who took cases to court, hoping that it would intervene and allow them to buy back their assets. However, any court cases are likely to be lengthy. Structural tests conducted on abandoned buildings by engineers led by Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, dean of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)s School of Civil Engineering, indicated that most structures are in sound condition and will not collapse. ``Buildings will not fall down just because nobody uses them, said Mr Worsak. The only factors that can make them tumble down is poor design and overload. Despite their sad appearance, these buildings can be re-developed, Mr Worsak said, adding the re-development cost accounts for 30% of the total value. Although the projects are deemed physically safe, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has linked the 128 buildings to social problems. Three city districts with a high number of incomplete projects are Bang Kapi, Klong Toey, and Wattana districts. According to the BMAs unpublished inspection report, some abandoned buildings have become crime scenes. A few years ago, the body of a two-month-old baby was found in an abandoned building. Some people took their own lives by jumping from the buildings. Debris such as construction materials fell from the buildings, posing a risk to surrounding communities. Trirat Jarutach, lecturer at Chulalongkorn Universitys faculty of architecture who conducted research on the impact of abandoned buildings, said authorities should encourage their re-development. He recommended that the Finance Ministry buy the buildings and fine re-developers or mediate negotiations between the original developers and new owners to speed up re-development. The BMA should consider allowing developers to complete construction work under the old town planning regulations. At present, re-development was difficult as developers are required to comply with the current town plan law which is more strict on building height and vacant spaces. Mr Trirat said state authorities paid little heed to his recommendations. During 2000-2005, there were 874 requests for construction permits. About 600 buildings have been built, but have low occupancy. ``We already have over 100 unfinished buildings and now we are likely to get more. Should this trend continue, Bangkok will become a city of incomplete buildings _ the relics of an economic crisis, he said.//end
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 03:22:04 +0000
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