Udon Plaza hopes to develop SRT land in Nong Khai into community

Published on June 12, 2009

Udon Plaza, the developer and operator of UD Town in Udon Thani, is negotiating with the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to develop the agency's land in Nong Khai into a community mall.

The negotiations are expected to be wrapped up after UD Town has its grand opening on November 21.

Udon Plaza managing director Worapol Weerachatyanukul said at press conference yesterday that the number of shoppers in Udon Thani and neighbouring provinces had grown strongly, especially visitors from Laos who can drive from Vientiane to Udon Thani province in just one hour. Moreover, the number of tourists and business persons visiting Udon Thani and neighbouring provinces averages 2.4 million a year.

These factors have convinced the developer to expand its investment after UD Town's construction is complete and it has its grand opening.

"Our investment in provinces neighbouring Udon Thani may start next year with a focus on Nong Khai, which is located close to Laos and will have easy transportation after the Thai and Lao governments further develop infrastructure to link the countries," Worapol said.

Worapol, who is also the exclusive handset distributor for Total Access Communication (DTAC) in 11 northeastern provinces, started to develop UD Town three years ago after signing a 30-year lease with the SRT to develop 25 rai of land located close to the station in Udon Thani.

Udon Plaza separated the land into two projects, with the first 11 rai developed as UD Bazaar and the remainder developed as UD Town. The investment cost Bt600 million, against the original estimate of Bt500 million.

Worapol said one-third of the funding was in the form of a bank loan and the remainder from the company's capital.

UD Town already has a booked occupancy rate of 80 per cent of the retail space of 13,000 square metres, with local and international brands such as Carrefour, McDonald's Drive Through, Minor Food Group (Swensen's and Dairy Queen), Lee, Wrangler and G2000 having made reservations.

The company expects the number of shoppers to average 25,000-30,000 a day, spending between Bt2,500 and Bt3,000 per head.

It targets rental revenue of Bt150 million for the first year of operation and believes the company's return will cover its investment within five years.

Worapol added that although Central Group would open a branch in Udon Thani this year, the company's revenue and shopper targets would be unaffected because UD Town had been designed under the concept of an outdoor shopping centre.

"We believe that when Central Group expands its business to Udon Thani it will create more business activity, which will be good for both of us.

Central's retail business in this location has the potential for growth, especially in terms of Lao shoppers," he said.

The Nation wrote:"Our investment in provinces neighbouring Udon Thani may start next year with a focus on Nong Khai, which is located close to Laos and will have easy transportation after the Thai and Lao governments further develop infrastructure to link the countries," Worapol said.