New Suam Lum floating market all set to float

A new floating market with a 600-seat restaurant, along with several other attractions, is to be opened at the Suam Lum (Lumpini) Night Bazaar in central Bangkok Thailand at the end of next year.

The operators of the Suam Lum floating market and bazaar say they hope this Bangkok city-centre floating market, which will cover 10,000 square meters and will be the first of its kind in Thailand, will be a magnet drawing foreign tourists to the bazaar. Construction of the floating market is to begin in April and be completed in November.

Because of this exciting attraction of the Suam Lum floating market and restaurant in the center of Bangkok, we expect to increase the number of foreign tourists to our night bazaar from between 10 and 15 per cent this year, to more than 20 per cent next year, said Khun Pairojana Toongthong, managing director of bazaar operator Bangkok Market Place Co in Thailand.

With the majority of foreign tourists visiting the floating market and bazaar will come from Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Middle East.

Other attractions set to open next year in Bangkok, include a 500-seat khantoke (Thailand's traditional northern Thai cuisine) restaurant a spa complex, and a plaza for products from Shanghai. The 8,000-sqm, air-conditioned Chinese Plaza complex, in which Bt28 million has been invested, will be open by February 2004.

The Suam Lum night bazaar has been open for almost 20 months and has achieved a certain level of success, albeit not as good as had been hoped for, said Pairojana. He said there was almost Bt200 million in accumulated unpaid rent, which had to be counted as bad debt by the bazaar.

We earned about Bt100 million from rents last year, generating only Bt1 million in profit. The situation, however, is better this year, he said. We expect to earn Bt200 million from rent this year. The bazaar covers an area of 120 rai and houses more than 4,000 tenant shops, of which almost 70 per cent are occupied.

The Suam Lum bazaar in Bangkok now attracts over 10,000 people on weekdays and up to 30,000 people at weekends, said Pairojana. More visitors are expected once the underground train system begins operation in April 2004.

He further added that Suam Lum bazaar would organize huge all-night factory outlet sales next year, the biggest of which would see some 200 lorry-loads of products being sold at cheap prices