Monchai Chinvisit, the representative of people living in Moo 3 of Tambon Bangmueng in Phang-Nga’s Takua Pa district, submitted a petition to the Provincial Damrongdhama Centre on Tuesday requesting that the authorities inspect what they claim is illegal land-deed registration over the site for Phang-Nga Airport.

He said 300 rai (48 hectares) of the land earmarked for the airport site was originally in Moo 4, which was restricted for airport construction only and no land-deed registration was allowed in the area.

However, locals later found that the ownership registration for the airport land and the site of the airport in the official document had been amended from Moo 4 to Moo 3.

As a result, Monchai stated, the people land’s in Moo 3 has been replaced with restricted land for the planned airport, leaving local residents in a position where they have lost their rights to their land.

The locals therefore want the authorities to investigate the land-deed registration and solve the problem, he stressed.