Cities, SI Urban 1/2020

Phuket

Green light for a cable car

Thomas Surrer

2. March 2020

The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) in the Thai province of Phuket has approved the construction of a three-kilometre cable car for the purposes of tourism.

After currency conversion, the costs of the cable car on Phuket are estimated at 43.8 million euros.

The construction costs of “The Phuket Sky Way” project are estimated at around 1.5 billion Baht (around 43.8 million euros), the online portal has revealed. The plan is for a three kilometre cable car system with three stations, which will operate around 82 metres above the ground and connect several tourist attractions on the popular island.

A French cable car manufacturer is being discussed as the supplier. The exact route will be announced only once the result of the environmental impact assessment is available and public opinion of the project has been obtained.

Ein spektakulärer Blick auf das Meer winkt den Fahrgästen.

“Our company has already planned the location of the cable car stations and pylons but at this stage we cannot reveal more,” The Phuket News quotes Archawin Sitaputra, President of operating company JH Thailand Cable Car: “We have to finish our research and obtain public feedback first but we will make sure that the view from cable car will be good.”

As online news source The Thaiger reports, instigators are promising passengers a spectacular panorama. According to the National Economic and Social Development Council, “Phuket needs this facility to attract more tourists – aside from our natural attractions, such as beaches and islands.”

It is modelled on the cable car on the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc, in the Gulf von Thailand; “Hon Thom” is currently the longest cable car in the world – and it kick-started tourism on the previously little known island off the coast of Cambodia.

New island landmark

“We are sure that the cable car will be popular among tourists, with the beautiful view of Phuket. The cable car will become the new landmark of Phuket too,” Sitaputra is convinced.

On numerous trips, he has seen cable car projects in many countries, which are popular with tourists and which decisively strengthen the market, such as in Hong Kong. However, Thailand does not yet have a cable car – but that could change on the “famous and charming island” of Phuket.