It is now almost certain that officials at the Region 5 Court of Appeal in Chiang Mai will not move into the new housing project on the slope of Doi Suthep after all.
The project is said to be 98% completed at a cost of more than a billion baht. If the local protesters' demand to demolish some of the buildings is implemented, a few hundred million more baht will have to be spent.
A number of high-ranking officials are against the idea, saying the demolition will waste taxpayers' money. They propose the buildings are kept for other public uses and the area be reforested to bring it as close as possible to a natural forest.
