More than 500 families living in the luxurious Ashton Asoke may be forced to evacuate their own homes. The Supreme Administrative Court has just revoked the construction permit of the building due to structural issues that can’t be resolved.
According to Thai law, a building with a minimum size of 30,000 sqm, like the Ashton Asoke, requires road access that is not narrower than 12 meters.
The original access to the 50-story Ashton Asoke, which was completed in 2017, didn't meet the requirement, so the developer had to resort to renting space from the Metropolitan Rapid Transit (MRT) to widen it. That's where the problem lies: the government-owned MRT cannot lease out land to private companies for commercial purposes.
So in cognizance of the aforementioned law, the courts declared that the construction permit was wrongfully issued and had to be invalidated from the beginning.
Experts and netizens say that the Ashton Asoke, to avoid being demolished, will have to seek alternative entrances, which might involve buying nearby shophouses to create shortcuts.
We’re keeping our eyes open and our ears peeled on what happens next.