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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/corporate/40019584

A 120-billion-baht mega-project, “One Bangkok”, will be the first large-scale property development project in central Bangkok that features new design standard and follows sustainable construction practices under the concept of circular economy.

The 104-rai (16.64 hectares) project is coming up on the corner of Wireless and Rama IV roads, co-developed by Frasers Property Limited in collaboration with the country’s leading construction material conglomerate, Siam Cement Group (SCG). The project aims to create premium office buildings, hotels and retail spaces as well as luxurious residential buildings with combined usable area of 166,400 square metres.

Both companies recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to manage the project using sustainable construction practices under the circular economy principles in four aspects: Use of precast walls made from recycled concrete from foundation piles, use of Q-CON sound barriers made from recycled lightweight bricks, waste management in the construction site, and turning food waste into fertiliser.

The MoU aims to reduce the use of resources and manage the waste created by the construction and building maintenance, a challenging task in a large-scale construction project in urban areas. Both Frasers Property and SCG hope that their cooperation will help raise construction industry standards in terms of sustainability that can be applied to projects of any scale.

Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Frasers Property Limited, said: “One Bangkok is a masterpiece project of Frasers Property that strives to set a new standard in design and sustainability for Thailand’s property landscape. We have been working with SCG, our strategic partner in creating value to the project by laying a groundwork for sustainable construction under the circular economy principles.”

“This endeavour is in line with Frasers Property’s goal of achieving net zero carbon emission target within the year 2050 under the company’s sustainability policy,” he said.

“Frasers Property is committed to driving the industry forward by integrating environmentally friendly practices and social responsibility into our value chain that covers investment, design, development, and operation of our property projects. We aim to achieve efficient usage of energy and resources while using modern techniques and tools to tackle energy- and environment-related problems,” he added.

Nithi Patarachoke, president of SCG’s cement-building materials business, said: “The expansion of the construction business in Thailand has resulted in increasing amount of waste materials. As a leading manufacturer and distributor of building materials, SCG is implementing the circular economy principles by developing new products and services that help minimise construction waste. For example, we have come up with a new concrete mix formula to manufacture ready-to-use concrete sheet from leftover concrete from construction sites.”

“Under SCG’s holistic construction waste management plan, we believe that the One Bangkok project can help raise the standard of the construction industry to be more environmentally friendly by becoming the ‘Green Construction’. This will help promote the sustainable development of Thailand’s infrastructure in the future, due to the simple concept of ‘turning waste to value’,” he added.

The MoU signed by Frasers Property and SCG covers four aspects of sustainable construction management:

▶︎ Using scrap concrete from cutting foundation piles to manufacture precast walls for use in the One Bangkok project 

The move aims to reduce waste and dust particles from the construction site by implementing a new crushing technique on foundation piles’ caps that will allow the scrap concrete to be recycled into precast walls to be installed as the external wall of buildings in the One Bangkok project.

▶︎ Holistic construction-waste management plan

Frasers Property has assigned SCG to be responsible for the sorting and management of wastes from the construction site of One Bangkok, including construction waste, toxic waste and food waste from the start of the project. SCG will use the latest technology to track the amount of waste in real time to plan a waste management strategy accordingly and ensure efficient waste management throughout the construction site.

▶︎ Use of leftover lightweight bricks to manufacture Q-CON sound barriers

SCG will use aggregating machines to turn leftover lightweight bricks into a mixture to manufacture Q-CON sound barriers to be fitted at the tunnel wall leading to One Bangkok’s entrance. This will be Thailand’s first commercial-scale use of recycled concrete waste to make Q-CON sound barriers.

▶︎ Use of food waste composter machine to turn food waste into fertiliser 

The One Bangkok project will install food-waste composters that are widely used by leading establishments worldwide to turn food waste into soil fertiliser for the project’s gardens and parks. These composters operate in a closed-circuit system to minimise unwanted odour and can decompose food waste into fertiliser in 10 hours. The finished fertiliser has been tested for safety, is free of germs and contains necessary minerals as per the Department of Agriculture’s requirements. In the early phase, the composters will be used mainly to manage food waste from construction camps, while later when the project finishes, they will be installed throughout the project areas.

To emphasise its commitment to becoming an environmentally friendly and socially responsible project, One Bangkok will also join the Thailand Sustainability Expo 2022, which will be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok from September 26 to October 2. Organised under the concept of “Sufficiency for Sustainability”, the expo will feature exhibitions, seminar sessions on sustainability, showcases of world-class innovations for society and the environment, as well as a variety of activities.

One Bangkok is a 120-billion-baht fully-integrated district and Thailand’s largest private property development project, comprising five premium office buildings, five luxury and lifestyle hotels, three luxury residential towers, four interconnected retail precincts, and art and cultural hubs located on a 104-rai (16.7-hectare) plot at the corner of Wireless Road and Rama IV Road.

One Bangkok aims to achieve Thailand’s first LEED for Neighbourhood Development Platinum standard. Additionally, all five premium office towers and a residential tower will be built to WELL Platinum standards, setting a new benchmark for green and sustainable developments for Thailand.

The first phase is scheduled for opening in the last quarter of 2023 with full completion in 2026.

Published : September 02, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/corporate/40019664

(September 2, 2022) The NT State Enterprise Union group submitted an appeal to the President of Chulalongkorn University requesting an investigation on research services of Chula Unisearch, in the matter of the business merger between True Corporation PCL and Total Access Communication PCL or Dtac.

Prof Dr Parichart Sthapitanonda, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Social Outreach at Chulalongkorn University, was delegated to receive the document on this occasion.

The appeal stemmed from the news that the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) had hired Chula Unisearch to perform a study and analysis of the business merger between True and Dtac for a sum of 10 million baht. Subsequently, parts of the study were disclosed and it appeared that there was broad public criticism of the quality and standards of the work with the following issues:

1. The issue of NBTC’s powers of consideration according to the law

Chula Unisearch had the opinion that NBTC, despite being an independent organization under the Constitution with the authority and obligations to regulate broadcast and telecommunications businesses, but however lacked the authority to approve or disapprove the business merger on this occasion. It is only able to specify conditions or specific measures to enforce. Also, the results of the study also stated that the Announcement of NBTC in the matter of measures to oversight on Telecom business mergers of 2018 was a secondary law with without the basis of legal authority established by the original law. Therefore, the authority to consider the merger was under the oversight of the Trade Competition Commission Thailand.

This opinion was severely criticized for being in complete conflict with the opinion of the NBTC Subcommittee which had been appointed with a former Arbitrator at the Supreme Administrative Court, a former High Court judge, and an academic from the Faculty of Law involved with teaching and research in trade competition law. It was also in violation of the order of the Central Administrative Court in Case Black no. 775/2565, which stated clearly that NBTC has the legal authority to consider approval or disapproval of this business merger, if it was seen to be causing a monopoly, or reducing or limiting competition in telecommunications. Also, the Trade Competition Commission had also previously affirmed that the merger of these telecom businesses was in the authority of NBTC, according to its establishing laws.

2. Issue of business merger impact analysis 

It is well known and of great interest to the general public that the business merger between True and Dtac is one of the largest ever mergers in the country’s history. It will give rise to a new company with market share in mobile phones of over 50%, in terms of both users and revenues, as well as industry. Most importantly, it will reduce big operators in the market, which currently has severe competition between three operators, to just two. This is a state of monopoly, impacting service users who will shoulder the burdens of more expensive service charges. The two big service providers will have no further incentive to compete, particularly on price. In a study from TDRI, a large number of academics from all around the country, consumers associations and organizations, and the general public have expressed opinions objecting to the merger or disagreeing with it. Even the study of NBTC’s Economic Subcommittee, established for this express purpose, had an opinion in the same direction.

However, it appeared that the opinion of Chula Unisearch had failed to demonstrate an analysis or opinion on this impact in any clear way. Moreover, it had the characteristic of inclining in favour of the merger, by invoking various benefits such as economies of scale, more efficient access to network signal, better coverage, building resilience into the network quality, and providing greater convenience to consumers from an increased number of after-sales service outlets, etc. All of these points are the benefits of the service provider and overlook the severe impacts on the general public of service users. This report, besides having issues of research quality and professionalism, also raised doubts and suspicions about its ultimate objective, as to whether it really was fulfilling the needs of the Office of NBTC, its client, or vested interests in this business merger, if it comes to fruition.

The NT State Enterprise Union group were acting as concerned members of the public with this criticism which had occurred. Chulalongkorn University is an institution with a long-standing high reputation among educational establishments, as a leading national center of knowledge, producing personnel with quality and ethics, to bring prosperity and progress to the country and benefit the people. It is also a highly credible organization with the trust of the people for over 100 years since its foundation. Issuing studies or reports in the university’s name implicate the university and the reputation of other faculties. Operations should be circumspect and neutral according to universally accepted academic principles. They should be able to justify their opinions, the results of their research and or object constructively. This particularly applies to research or reports with impacting on the general public of mobile phone service users, who are most people in the country.

Therefore, the NT State Enterprise Union group requested the university to conduct an investigation on procedure for taking on work, and on the research procedures or academic research reports from Chula Unisearch. These should be transparent and according to academic principles and the principles of research. They should be conducted in an appropriate time frame, and they should yield quality results without any suspicions attached, to maintain the good reputation of Chulalongkorn University.
 

Published : September 02, 2022