Phuket Aquapark

Whoooooaaaa!

Phuket is finally to get its first full-on water park, with a wave pool, a “relax” pool and an adventure pool and no fewer than 12 water slides and chutes, ranging from small to enormous.

Prawich Chalorthammanit, a partner in Cesenki Co Ltd, which is developing the new outdoor venue, Phuket Aquapark, explained that the 450-million-baht project is to be built on 40 rai of land at the entrance to the Bangwad dam in Kathu.

The owners, a Thai-Hungarian joint venture, began construction a few months ago and aim to open the park in the middle of next year. “The equipment will come from a factory in Turkey that has very high-standard products that have been used in Europe and elsewhere,” said Khun Prawich.

He added, “The park will fit in with Phuket’s island character; the overall setting will be natural, rather than urban – we will have trees and gardens everywhere. As it is an outdoor place, we will also have other activities such as beach football and beach volleyball too.”

While for visitors the emphasis will be strictly on fun, for Cesenki the priorities will be hygiene and safety. There will be a comprehensive cleaning system for the water, plus a medical care center inside the park. There will also be restaurants and shops.

Phuket Aquapark will have a capacity of around 3,000 people a day. Prices and opening hours will be announced later.

New Shooting Range Opening Soon

Patong shooting range

Near the peak of the Phuket City-Patong road, on the right just before the Chinese shrine, is a construction site on the hillside. This is a home of the new Patong Shooting Range.

The range is situated on 4.5 rai (7,200 square metres) of land next to the Kathu water station. Construction of the 45-million-baht facility began in the middle of this year, with completion scheduled in the coming high season.

Although this is his first such venture in Phuket, Somkit Sucharijiravongse, owner of the range, has plenty of experience in shooting ranges. He owns two similar venues in Trang and Krabi.

The other two ranges in Phuket are Phuket Shooting Range on Patak road – the road to Kata – near the Chalong circle, and Kathu Shooting Range in Soi Kathu Waterfall, off Wichit Songkram Rd.

Laguna Phuket Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Dusit Laguna Resort - main entrance

Laguna Resorts & Hotels, which owns the six hotels in the Laguna Phuket complex on Bang Tao Bay, donated 1.5 million baht to the Phuket Special School as part of its celebrations of the 20th anniversary of its first hotel opening. The donation will go toward the construction of a skills development playground specifically for autistic and mentally challenged children at the school.

Twenty years ago, when Bang Tao was a quiet fishing village, Laguna Phuket invested about US$200 million rehabilitating a wasteland left behind by tin mining, turning it into beautiful lakes surrounded by gardens for the hotels. It was by far the largest investment anyone had made in Phuket.

The first hotel, the Dusit Laguna Resort, opened in 1987 and Bang Tao Beach has been firmly on the tourist map ever since. Today, the lush development spans six resorts. In addition to the Dusit there are the Banyan Tree Phuket, Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, Laguna Beach Resort, Allamanda Laguna Phuket and Laguna Holiday Club Resort.

Laguna Beach Resort

The complex also includes residences and townhomes, an 18-hole golf course, spas, a wedding chapel and a shopping village. At 20, Laguna Phuket is still growing and expanding, with more projects in the pipeline.

Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Plc, remarked, “It gives me tremendous satisfaction to see the fruits of our labour blossom into the lush tropical paradise it is today and to see how, together with my colleagues, we have preserved the rich cultural heritage unique to Thailand, imparting warm hospitality and romance to all who we have had the privilege of sharing this experience with."

“This transformation is in part thanks to our business partners and friends who have supported and encouraged us along the way,” he said.