Council wants French firm’s contract cancelled

August 23rd, 2007

The City Council wants the city to terminate a contract with a French advertising firm which has erected more than 400 illegal billboards in the capital.

The move follows the death of a woman customer at a noodle stall on Thursday, crushed by a huge metal hoarding blown down by the wind in Bang Kapi district.

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin immediately declared a crackdown on illegal and unsafe billboards.

Suthichai Weerakulsunthorn, head of a council panel examining the billboard problem, said JCDecaux had set up 423 more billboards and signs than it was permitted.

In Chatuchak district, for example the company was allowed to put up 10 billboards, but it built 116. It also erected 104 billboards in Pathumwan district, where it was permitted only six.

The company’s dispute with the BMA began in 2003. City Hall imposed fines after finding advertising boards were illegally placed at five bus stops.

The council sub-committee is examining the city’s revenues from sources such as the concession to erect billboards on buildings and streets. This allows it to check which advertising boards were put up without permission.

The panel also found illegal billboards carrying advertisements for NGV gas on main streets, including Vibhavadi Rangsit road. Many of them, owned by an oil

retailer giant, were put up near PTT petrol stations. The governor would be asked to have them demolished.

Mr. Apirak has advised city folks to avoid being near giant billboards during storms.

Source: Bangkok Post – Thailand, 2-7-2007

Collected by Antoni P. Uni, Bangkok 23-8-2007

Finally, after some dead and wounded persons within the last couple of months everybody wakes up again and start what have been done already a long time ago against this ugly looking form of promotion of what I think it is not bringing revenues at all: once one has seen them one know! Ugly monsters, every year getting bigger and a very lot of them more dangerous seeing the wreckage constructions they have been built on. And the old constructions never disappear until they rot away finally. Overall not a very nice view.

Counting the number of illegal billboards one only can conclude: lack of control or, more likely no lack of “friends”!

These illegal billboards should be taken down at the expense of the company in question, closed down and banned for ever, leaving the responsible management with a penalty high enough to cover the revenues the City Council lost!

A shame that a “Farang”-company has been involved, where already enough question marks and fear is growing concerning foreign involvement.