CPN's Suan Lum project gets go-ahead
Central Pattana Plc has formally been awarded a contract to redevelop the Suan Lum Night Bazaar from the Crown Property Bureau.
The highly coveted site, located opposite Lumphini Park at the intersection of Rama IV and Wireless Road, is expected to be renovated into a retail and commercial space that will include Bangkok's tallest office skyscraper.
Naris Cheyklin, the CPN chief financial officer, said work on the 40-rai site would take around five years to complete.
The site would also include an exhibition centre, hotel and recreation zone, he said, with commercial space of the shopping plaza alone projected at up to 100,000 square metres.
"Our new shopping complex here will be totally different from existing retail destinations such as Siam Paragon and CentralWorld. We want to have a unique theme to attract tourists," Mr Naris said.
CPN, the county's largest retail developer and operator, is expected to invest at least five billion baht in the new shopping complex alone, with billions more for the hotel, office building and convention centre.
Kobchai Chirathivat, CPN's chief executive, said last year that the company had proposed building a new 90-storey skyscraper on the site to serve as a landmark rivalling the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Aviruth Wongbuddhapitak, the assistant director-general of the Crown Property Bureau, said that CPN was awarded the development contract thanks to its "interesting and fresh architectural concepts that will both upgrade the look and value of both the site and adjacent areas".
"The development is intended to serve the social and commercial needs of the community, and to assist in upgrading and improving the area within the site, as well as providing an incentive to upgrade land usage in adjacent areas."
The Crown Property Bureau has been considering a new development plan for the Suan Lum Night Bazaar for four years. Other bidders for the contract included the developers Sansiri Plc, Natural Park and TCC Land.
The contract allows CPN to develop 40 rai of the 127-rai plot, formerly used for the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School. The Crown Property Bureau will reserve other space on the site for the construction of new embassies, as well as future development projects.
The lease held by P Con Development, the operator of the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, expired last March.
Retailers subleasing space from P Con would be allowed to stay at the site until April with no cost, Mr Aviruth said, with the land to be turned over to CPN by the end of the year.
CPN currently manages 10 shopping complexes nationwide with a combined retail space of 680,000 square metres. The company reported profit of 1.3 billion baht on revenue of 5.6 billion for the nine months ending last Sept 30.
CPN shares closed yesterday on the SET at 23.50 baht, down 50 satang, in trade worth 33.7 million baht. Bangkok Post.
