The Prime Minister inspects the progress of the Koh Samui cruise port.

Surat Thani,, The Prime Minister inspected the progress of the Koh Samui cruise port, setting up KPIs for the Marine Department - Ministry of Tourism to bring the matter to the Cabinet before the end of 2024, hoping to be a gift to the people of Koh Samui. Pushing Samui to be in the TOP 10 comprehensive tourism while Surat Thani MP Ruam Thai Sang Chat Party flocks to welcome Mr. Settha Thavisin, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Visited the area to follow up on the construction project for a large cruise ship pier at Laem Nikhom, Koh Samui District. Surat Thani Province, with Ms. Sudawan Wangsuphakitkoson Minister of Tourism and Sports, Mrs. Monporn Charoensri, Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr. Chaiya Promma, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, M.L. Chayothit Kridakorn, Thai Trade Representative, Mr. Chatuporn Buruspat, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry. Natural Resources and Environment joined the group. In addition, it was found that there was an MP from Surat Thani Province. Ruam Thai Sang Chat Party Waiting for the need to receive the Prime Minister by the Prime Minister Hear a progress report on the large cruise terminal project. Koh Samui from Mr. Krisphet Chaichuay, Director General of the Marine Department and the history of the project Including the situation of water transportation in Surat Thani Province. The Prime Minister has proposed opening up duty-free sales of goods. or duty free zone Including agreeing with the proposal to create a Marina on Koh Samui and also wanting to create a sea plane parking spot because they think that it will make a complete connection to tourism, both by boat and air, creating more income. The Prime Minister also stated that KPIs must be set for the Marine Department's work. that these matters must be brought to the Cabinet meeting before the end of 2024 as a New Year's gift to our brothers and sisters on Koh Samui. along with assigning Ms. Sudawan Wang Suphakitkoson Minister of Tourism and Sports Making Koh Samui a top 10 comprehensive tourist d estination in the world. Reporters reported that For construction projects, if the docking of large cruise ships occurs Because at present large ships cannot You can dock at Koh Samui. Therefore had to park in the middle of the sea. and built a small boat to the island The Marine Department therefore proposed the project, which is a project on an area of ??47-3-6 rai, which is the area of ??the Royal Forest Department. and some private sectors Consists of a cable-stayed bridge Service building and parking lot, public road, 3-story passenger building and ferry and yacht berths. Investment value and expenses throughout the project amount to 12,172 million baht, with private sector investment in state enterprises or PPP, which is expected. It will reduce government costs and increase operational value by 1,280 million baht. However, the pier It will be able to accommodate 180,000 tourists per year and accommodate large cruise ships (Cruise) 120 boat trips per year. And it is expected that tourists will spend 5 ,000 baht per person. This project will begin operations. and propose projects for the year 2024-2027 along with studying large-scale health and environmental impacts (EHIA) and joint investment with the private sector (PPP) in 2025. Construction takes from 2027-2029, a period of 3 years, and will be ready for service in the year 2024-2027. 2029 with an initial contract of 30 years. Then the Prime Minister He joined in taking photos with the people and the group of village health volunteers who came to welcome him and stated that going to his own area today was not a matter of speaking lightly. But there must be a clear destination by asking local MPs to help promote Koh Samui. After the port was built Cultural tourism should be linked together because Samui, besides having the sun, beach, and sea, is also a matter of culture. that will attract tourists, whether it be food, landscape, which we want tourists to come and stay for a longer time The number of people who come to visit is not important. Equal to the duration of stay If you stay longer, there will be more expenses. Therefore, when investing in infrastructure of tens of billions of baht I want tourists to stay for a long time. Therefore, I would like to ask the MPs to cooperate with the tourism sector to help in this matter as well. Source: Thai News Agency