AP Honda Thailand sees a future for electric motorbikes.
AP Honda Thailand (Thailand’s distributor of Honda motorbikes), plans to manufacture electric motorbikes by 2019, following the official line of the Japanese based company.
AP Honda’s Vice-president, Suchart Arunsaengroj was quoted as saying, “AP Honda plans to make all related parts of the electric motorcycles in Thailand with our commitment to introduce the first model under the electric platform in 2019.”
Yet the company faces an uphill struggle because the parts for an electric motorbike cost considerably more than the petrol equivalent making the selling price higher. The company is urging the Thai government to subsidize the manufacture to make them less expensive in the near term and to further attract investment from foreign companies.
Suchart Arunsaengroj, was also quoted as saying, “AP Honda plans to make all related parts of the electric motorcycles in Thailand with our commitment to introduce the first model under the electric platform in 2019,” adding, “Making eco-friendly vehicles is now the business footprint for Honda because the global trend is heading [in this direction].”
AP Thailand launches Italian styled Vittorio condo.
AP Thailand launched its latest Italian inspired condo project called Vittorio. The luxury abode features an opulent lobby and other areas with Italian Palissandro Bluette marble cladding.
Only 88 generously sized units are spread over 28 floors with a starting price of 35 million baht.
The release of the new condo comes at a time when the property market has seen significantly fewer new units being released in the first quarter of 2017 as compared to the same period last year.
The condo is situated in Sukhumvit Soi 39 and is valued at 3.5 Billion baht.
The featured marble is very rare and only around one third of it can be used due to imperfections that were not accepted. It comes imported directly from its home quarry in the northern Italian city of Crevoladossola
Somkiat Jitsangboon, managing director of Empire Granite Co Ltd, which procured the marble for Vittorio, was quoted as saying, “When we inspected marble slabs, water would be sprayed on the stone so their veins and swirls would reveal themselves more clearly.”
According to the head of corporate marketing for AP, Sappasit Foongfaungchaveng, the layout and concept of the Vittorio are based on the architecture of the Uffizi Gallery museum in Florence.
Section 44 invoked for the high speed Thai-Chinese railway.
The Prime Minister has invoked Section 44 to speed up the start of construction of the Thai Chinese railway project that will run between Bangkok and Nakhorn Ratchasima. Work is expected to start as early as later this year.
The order specifies the requirement for the SRT to engage with a Chinese state enterprise certified by China’s National Development and Reform Commission to oversee the construction of the project.
It also specifies the requirement for a contract to be drafted showing all the details of the project’s cost and other conditions, as discussed at several prior cabinet meetings.
The aim is to have the contract ready within 120 days, after which the cabinet would make its considerations on the projects time frame.
Eventually the route would further connect Bangkok with Nong Kai on the Laos border.
