Thailand to begin Phuket beach demolition drive in July
Thailand plans to begin demolishing illegal structures on Phuket beaches in July, with Nui Beach among the first targets after appeals were rejected and notice periods near expiry.
Thailand’s government will begin demolishing illegal structures on Phuket beaches in July, starting with areas where appeals have been rejected and legal notice periods are due to expire.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin said the ministry was preparing to move ahead with demolition as part of a campaign to reclaim public land and protected national park areas from encroachers.
Nui Beach is expected to be among the first sites targeted. Suchart said officials had posted notices on structures there and that the legal deadline would expire in July, allowing demolition to proceed.
The enforcement drive also covers other disputed coastal areas, including Freedom Beach, as well as hotels accused of encroaching on land in Sirinat National Park.
Suchart said those accused of encroachment had the right to appeal, but the ministry had rejected all appeals submitted so far in the cases now moving forward.
He said responsibility for the cases was split between agencies, with some matters handled by the Royal Forest Department and others by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
However, Suchart said authorities could not immediately demolish structures on plots that still carry active title deeds, even when the land has already been judged problematic. In those cases, the Department of Lands must first formally revoke the title deeds before demolition notices can be issued.
According to the minister, some court rulings have already found that land documents were improperly used, including cases involving Sor Kor 1 land-occupation documents that were allegedly applied to land where they did not lawfully belong. He said he was compiling Supreme Court rulings and related title deed numbers for submission to the Department of Lands for revocation proceedings.
Suchart said the staged process was intended to ensure enforcement is lawful and cannot later be challenged on procedural grounds.
He also rejected suggestions that influential figures had tried to lobby against demolition or legal action, saying the campaign would be enforced under the law across all relevant areas.
The July timetable will test whether the government can turn its land-reclamation campaign in Phuket into concrete action in beach and national park areas where public access, protected land and tourism businesses overlap.
