Property developer Seacon Development is moving forward on a massive mixed-use project, Seacon City, on Srinakarin Road next year, according to The Nation. The initial project was conceived a decade ago but it was suspended due to its infeasibility under the “older Bangkok City Plan, which prohibited buildings comprising more than 10,000 square metres of space on Srinakarin Road,” said Tatiya Sosothikul, Seacon Development’s managing director.
At present, development plans are in-line with the new Bangkok City Plan announced last year. However, the budget has more than doubled to THB 15 billion. Half of the investment budget will come from the company’s cash flow, and the rest from bank loans.
Seacon City will encompass condominiums, serviced apartments, an education centre, office buildings and a sport complex on 120 rai (19.2 hectares) near Seacon Square Srinakarin shopping centre. Construction is scheduled to begin next year after the current study of the revised plan is finalised. It will take seven years to complete.
Over the next two years, the company has also budgeted THB 1.8 billion for renovation and expansion of the retail space at its two shopping centres, including Seacon Square Srinakarin, which will have 220,000 square metres in retail space, and Seacon Bangkae.
Seacon Square Srinakarin recorded revenues of THB 1.38 billion last year, up 5 percent from 2012, while Seacon Bangkae recorded THB 530 million in 2013, its first year of operation. Seacon Development targets revenue growth of 5 to 8 percent this year. Tatiya also said that total revenue growth would be driven by an average 7-percent increase in rental fees for both Seacon Square Srinakarin and Seacon Bangkae.
The ongoing political turmoil has had little effect on the company’s shopping centres, as they are both located far from the areas occupied by the anti-government protestors.
