Officials ground Koh Phangan private airport project

Environmental officials have halted a privately owned airport project on Koh Phangan in Surat Thani after finding its construction, which has already<br/>cleared part of a mountain, sits on part of a forest reserve. The project, on 150 rai of mountainous terrain, is one of three encroachments on the resort island which the officials suspect are causing damage to Koh Phangan forest reserve and a nearby forest which is in an area to be declared as a new national park named Than Sadet, according to Royal Forest Department chief Chonlatid Suraswadi. His team met Wathin Sunthawong, who claimed he oversees the airport construction area and said its landscaping had been legally approved. The officials remained doubtful over the construction approval, though the land caretaker backed his claim with a request document for land clearing, a Sor Khor 1 document, which informs officials of land occupation, and Nor Sor 3 Kor document, which is granted to certify land use. <br/>