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Dream over for capital's amusement park

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people_walk_past_the_enterance_to_dreaml
Foreign holidaymakers walk past the entrance of Phnom Penh’s Dreamland amusement park yesterday afternoon. The park is due to close its doors at the end of the month. Heng Chivoan
 
Dream over for capital's amusement park
 
Wed, 24 February 2016
 

Dreamland, the Kingdom’s biggest amusement park, has announced it will close at the end of the month when its five-year lease expires to make way for a colossal twin tower skyscraper set to rise in its place, a member of its management committee said yesterday.

 

“We are closing at the end of February because our contract is ending and will not be renewed,†he said on condition his name was not published. “I deeply regret that what we have built will be lost, but there is no choice but for us to shut down.â€

 

The amusement park opened in 2011 on a 5-hectare lot opposite the NagaWorld casino in the capital’s Chaktomuk neighbourhood. KNN Cambodia Co Ltd said it sank $10 million into developing the theme park, which features a ferris wheel, water park, bumper cars and over a dozen rides.

 

But with its lease coming to an end, the property owner – Thai Boon Roong Co Ltd – has said the land will be used as the site of a 133-storey twin-towered commercial building, which if ever constructed would join the ranks of the world’s tallest manmade structures.

 

The company, which could not be reached for comment yesterday, claimed last week it received initial approval for the $1 billion project from City Hall.

 

According to the committee member, Dreamland employed 300 staff when it opened in 2011, but has gradually trimmed its workforce to 100.

 

He said initially up to 5,000 people visited the amusement park each day, and double that on holidays, but the number of visitors has declined in recent years as the operating company – wary of the lease expiring – reduced its investment in the park.

 

“We want to try another business venture, but we don’t want to invest in amusement parks anymore,†he said.

 

“We’ve lost on that business, so we will do something else.â€

 

He added that the closure of Dreamland would be a loss not just for his company, but also for the city.

 

“I know that I lose in this business, but I do it for the beauty and prestige of the city, and not just for income,†he said.

 

Ung Kunvibol, head of operations at Dreamland, said the company will auction all of the park’s equipment and rides, and has already posted announcements for the sale. He said everything would be up for bid – from the giant ferris wheel down to the tables, chairs and air conditioner units – to recoup as much of the company’s investment as possible.

 

“We regret it. This place used to be where people came to have fun,†he lamented.

 

Kunvibol said the government should encourage investors to open another large amusement park for both children and adults.

 

City Hall spokesman Long Dimanche said there was no plan for a new amusement park yet, but the municipality would welcome any investor to develop one.

 

“It is good to have an amusement park [in the capital],†he said. “If there is a project, they can suggest it to city hall and we’ll cooperate.â€

 

He confirmed that the five-hectare Dreamland site belongs to Thai Boon Roong Co Ltd, which has applied for a permit to build a twin tower as part of a mixed-use project. The proposal is still under review.

 

Real estate experts say ambitious development projects are often announced, with no intention of being completed, as a way of pushing up an area’s property prices. Developers are then able to sell the property at a high profit without ever sinking capital into developing it.

 

However, Seng Bunna, CEO of Bonna Realty Group, said while he has only seen the twin-tower project’s conceptual plan, even if the mixed-use building were erected on the Dreamland site, it would not significantly increase the land’s value.

 

He said in 2011, when the amusement park first opened, the price of land in the area was between $3,000 and $3,500 per square metre. Today it stands around $4,500 to $5,000. Any further hike would put it “out of balance†with the local property market.

 

“There are many places [around Phnom Penh] and a lot of space for such a project, so the land price cannot increase, or double or triple,†he said.

 

While Dreamland had its share of detractors – with one online review describing it as “Nightmare-land†on account of its poor maintenance and safety record – many Cambodian families have voiced regret over its imminent closure.

 

Dara Pech, who visited the park yesterday with her three children and elderly parents, said she had been unaware it would close at the end of the month.

 

She expressed dismay, explaining that apart from Dreamland and a handful of entertainment centres in shopping malls there were no other good places in Phnom Penh where children could enjoy their time.

 

“This is probably the last time that my family and I get to visit this park together,†Pech said before walking away.

 

Source:  http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/dream-over-capitals-amusement-park

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Parrothead
Thai Boon Roong Co Ltd – has said the land will be used as the site of a 133-storey twin-towered commercial building

 

You can bet your collective asses, that is one building I will NEVER step foot in. I can't wait to see how they get water to the top of that building, much less build it safely. If / When it falls, can you imagine the damage it is going to create in the area around it? 

 

Personally, I didn't know the park existed. Had I known, I would have visited it. I would much rather have an amusement park, than a damned building.

 

Always all about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Edited by Paul

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phuketrichard

it was a nice place to take the young ones IF u had $$$  it was not cheap

 

Pau;l u would have hated it as they double charged expats with kids

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Parrothead
Pau;l u would have hated it as they double charged expats with kids

 

Ahhhh. Another double standard place. Let 'em burn, just like that French run circus up here. Screw 'em.

Edited by Paul

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andy

Building in the sky

 

 

I am also not sure the towers would be built. What is for sure is the Thai group own, and will control that particular piece of land for prime real estate.

But if the Thais can build up into the sky! Some do it very well.

 â€‹ post-1230-0-17996600-1456843598.png 

The Baiyoke Tower II,  in Bangkok is a 85-storey, 304 m (997 ft) skyscraper hotel. It is the tallest building in the city, and comprises the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, the tallest hotel in Southeast Asia and the seventh-tallest all-hotel structure in the world.

The building features a public observatory on the 77th floor, a bar called "Roof Top Bar & Music Lounge" on the 83rd floor.

I went in December 2014 for buffet dinner. I would highly recommend it, excellent food. If you are accompanied by a Thai, you get a discount on the ticket price.  

Foundation works, were carried out by Multiplex RSY Constructions (Australia). Workers began to install 360 concrete piles (driven to 56m depth) before placing a 5m thick mat over the top.

Baiyoke II was the world's tallest hotel at the time it was completed - but this was never registered in the Guinness Book of World Records. June 1999 Official opening of the Baiyoke Sky Hotel.

 post-1230-0-31788400-1456843621.png

MahaNakhon is a luxury mixed-use skyscraper currently under construction in the Silom/Sathon central business area of Bangkok, Thailand. Designed to fit into the Thai landscape with a unique pixelated facade, it will have the unconventional appearance of a glass curtain walled square tower with a cuboid-surfaced spiral cut into the side of the building.

it will become the tallest building in Bangkok at 314 metres (1,030 ft) (It may now be completed).

 

There are 17 skyscrapers under construction in Thailand at this present time.

 

 

 

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