Call it looking a gift horse in the mouth, but the proposed course for a Formula One race in Bangkok, scheduled to take place in 2015, is drawing complaints from several civic bodies. In a feature on the subject, the Nation has outlined the points of contention, and the various parties from which they stem.
The course (elegantly rendered here), will take racers through Bangkok’s Old City, passing historic monuments such as the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
While many spectators have expressed excitement about the coming festivities, a growing cadre of Old City stakeholders have begun to grumble about the race’s possible side effects.
Officials at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) have expressed concern that by staging part of the race on Rattanakosin Island, the organizers will exacerbate the area’s already horrible traffic and risk damage to the Island’s historic structures.
The disruption to citizens sure to result from the track’s construction has caused concern for BMA officials as well. In order to stage the race, multiple pieces of infrastructure, including fences, pits and bleachers, will have to be installed in the Old City area, causing months worth of disruptions.
This debate is gathering momentum while the actual legislation that would allow the circuit to be constructed makes its way through Thailand’s bureaucracy. A proposal for construction of the racecourse (and its accompanying expenses) is nearly ready for submission to the Cabinet. Even if it obtains Cabinet approval, the course will have to earn a further nod from Bangkok governor, and BMA chief, MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra before construction can begin.
