Bangkok construction update (2024/2025 edition)

Another mall at Siam, the future “Shinjuku of Bangkok”, more classic hotels that have been lost, the South Sukhumvit Innovation District, and a mega project in Chinatown.

This is the annual Bangkok construction update, where I visit the most prominent construction projects around the city.

Bangkok is one of my most visited cities in Southeast Asia, so I am familiar with most of the big projects.

I was in Bangkok in December, which is the best time of year to visit. It’s the start of the dry season, and there are occasional cool mornings (referred to here as winter, and where you wonder if you should wear jeans in the morning). It’s also a good time of year for air quality.

I returned to Bangkok in January, and I arrived amid an airpocalypse. Schools were closed, and the government experimented with free train travel to try to get more cars off the road.

I never check the weather report when living in the tropics (it’s either dry season or rainy season), but now checking the Air Quality Index has become a normal habit. The AQI is also shown on some billboards, such as this one in Benchasiri Park.

AQI of 62 is not a bad day in BKK

I avoid travel to Chiang Mai in March-April, but now I have to consider not visiting Bangkok in January.

This report covers another mall at Siam, the future “Shinjuku of Bangkok”, more classic hotels that have been lost, the South Sukhumvit Innovation District, and a mega project in Chinatown. The photos are from December 2024 and January- February 2025. I usually do metro rail updates in a separate report.

Siam/Pratunam

Central Siam Square

Central Pattana is the largest retail property developer in Thailand, so it’s no surprise that they are developing this prominent corner near the Siam BTS Skytrain interchange. This project will be the usual mix of office tower, hotel, and mall.

Work on the basement level is underway, and construction is visible from the Skytrain.

The project is expected to be called Central Siam Square, in line with the naming convention of other Central Pattana projects. The Central Pattana website still doesn’t have any updated images, and it’s referred to on the website as “Siam Future Development Plc”. There are no images on the construction site either, so the only images are these basic renders I found on forums.

This large block was mostly old shophouses, but it was also the site of the historic Scala Theatre.

Pratunam Market redevelopment

There is no word yet on what is happening on the former Pratunam Market site, but there are big changes planned. This corner will be home to Pratunam Station on the Orange MRT line, and businesses in this shopping district want to transform the area into Bangkok’s Shinjuku.

Sukhumvit Road

10th Avenue

The 10th Avenue project is on the former Chuvit Garden at Sukhumvit Soi 10. The garden was owned by massage parlour magnate Chuwit Kamolvisit.

Work on the basement structure had begun, but it ran into trouble when someone realised that he had donated the park to the city, thus, he was not able to reclaim it to develop the land.

The 10th Avenue advertising has been taken down, and there is now signage for Sukhumvit Silver Star.

Voco Bangkok Sukhumvit 11

Voco is a hotel brand that was launched in 2018 by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).

The site of Voco Bangkok Sukhumvit 11 used to be a block of scrappy shophouses, and it was the site of the original Cheap Charlies bar. Work hasn’t begun on this new hotel.

KROMO Bangkok, Curio Collection by Hilton

It’s easy to lose track of the sub-brands of the hotel conglomerates, and this new hotel on Sukhumvit 29 was the first time I have seen a Curio Collection by Hilton.

KROMO Bangkok, Curio Collection by Hilton is the second Curio hotel in Southeast Asia after La Festa Phu Quoc. KROMO Bangkok was structurally complete at the time of my visit.

Conrad Bangkok Sukhumvit Queen’s Park

Conrad Bangkok Sukhumvit Queen’s Park is under construction next the recently completed Emsphere mall on Sukhumvit Road.

Cloud 11

Further down Sukhumvit, at Soi 66, is Cloud 11. This multi-tower development is being promoted as a creator economy hub. It’s being marketed as the South Sukhumvit Innovation District. There isn’t such a place as South Sukhumvit, but having Sukhumvit in the name makes it sound more familiar.

As a digital publisher/creator, I have been keeping a close watch on this to see if it’s a place I would like to live and work in. The website blurb says:

“As a new creative playground, Cloud 11 will bridge Southeast Asia’s creative industry with the future of entertainment technology and become a community for creators in gaming, music and content creation with a mission to empower the creator through our labs, studios and creator fund.”

I will reserve my judgment until it’s operational, but the design of this mini district just looks like another uninspired, boring blue office block.

Cloud 11 construction

Bangkok Mall

Continuing along Sukhumvit Road, at the Bangna intersection is the massive Bangkok Mall project. Press quotes claim it will be the largest shopping complex in Southeast Asia.

The Sukhumvit-Bangna intersection is a horrible place to be as a pedestrian. Fortunately, the mall is between Udomsuk and Bang Na BTS stations, and both have an elevated walkway to the mall site.

Bangkok Mall site behind the Sukhumvit-Bangna intersection

Silom/Sathorn/Lumphini area

Dusit Central Park

Dusit Central Park is opposite Lumphini Park, next to Silom Station, making it one of the prime development sites of Bangkok. The project is being built on the site of the former Dusit Thani Hotel, and it features three towers of 78, 46, and 40 storeys.

I was sad to see the Dusit Thani Hotel demolished, but the new Dusit Thani Hotel is a good design. The hotel (building on the left) is a narrow tower with all of the windows facing the park. The middle tower (under construction) is the residences, while the third tower is an office tower.

One Bangkok

One Bangkok is the Suan Lum Night Bazaar redevelopment project to the east of Lumpini Park. The project opened in 2024, and I did a separate review of One Bangkok when I visited in December.

The project looks finished, but there is still the signature tower to be built. The tower was originally going to be 436 metres/92-storeys, though now it’s unclear if it’s going ahead.

Nimit Langsuan

On the north side of Lumphini Park is the Nimit Langsuan tower. The project had stalled, but it has now been completed since my last report. Even though only a quarter of the apartments have park views, all of the upper apartments have unobstructed views.

Narai Hotel Project

The Narai Hotel on Silom Road was another classic Bangkok hotel that was recently demolished, but at least they are replacing it with another interesting building.

The new Narai Hotel is under construction, and I look forward to seeing if it looks as good as the projected image. This sort of futuristic design is what they should have built at Cloud 11.

Boonmitr Silom

Boonmitr Silom has begun construction after years of being an empty lot. There is nothing to look at in this photo, but the workers are working hard behind the fence.

Voco Bangkok Surawong

Another Voco for Bangkok is being built in the old Tawana Bangkok Hotel on Surawongse Road (parallel to Silom Road). I stayed at the Tawana after the pandemic, and I appreciated its old-school vibes with the wood panelling throughout the hotel. Sadly, another classic hotel has gone, but at least they are refurbishing the building instead of demolishing it.

Chinatown

Woeng Nakornkasem Yaowaraj

The Woeng Nakornkasem Yaowaraj project is in the Chinatown area on Charoen Krung Road, near Sam Yot MRT station. This project is being built by Asset World Corp in an area filled with dilapidated concrete shophouses. The few historic shophouses in the area will be incorporated into the design.

It’s unusual to see such a large development like this in the old city area, as most of the properties are small lots. News reports say it took four years to plan. It’s unclear if this includes land acquisition or if the developer was buying properties in this area like a monopoly board over many years.

This area has been ripe for redevelopment ever since the MRT Blue Line was extended here, but there is a height restriction on buildings in this part of the city.

Bang Kho Laem District

Bang Kho Laem District is below Sathorn District, tucked away in the meandering Chao Phraya River. I’ve not spent much time in this area as it’s not connected to any rail lines.

The Thotsamarachan (Rama 10) Bridge was about to open when I arrived, and it was open for pedestrians to walk across before it was open to vehicles. I got a Grab taxi to what looked like an appealing park next to the bridge, but I didn’t account for the fact that the bridge entrance was much further inland.

At least I can say I have now been to the Public Park in Commemoration of H.M. the King’s 6th Cycle Birthday, which has a good view of the Thotsamarachan Bridge.

Public Park in Commemoration of H.M. the King’s 6th Cycle Birthday

Going to this park gave me an excuse to walk along the road that follows the river. The road (Rama III) is too far inland to have a view, so it’s an unremarkable road. There is a BRT service along this road, but I didn’t see a single bus on my walk. There is a long-term plan to run the Grey Line Monorail along this route (as shown on the M-MAP 2 plan).

This road has a Terminal 21 Mall, though it’s not as good as the Terminal 21 on Sukhumvit Road.

I got a message from a reader about a big block of land being developed along here. This is an apartment project called One Chaophraya.

Canapaya Residences is another apartment by the river that must have amazing views. I guess it’s good if you like driving; otherwise, it’s hard to walk to anything interesting around here. There are always food delivery riders coming in and out of these buildings because it is too far to walk to anything from here.

Metro construction

As I mentioned before, this post doesn’t include metro updates, as I will do that separately. I will mention that I was in Bangkok when they closed the Ratchathewi overpass to make room for the Orange Line construction. That was creating some traffic jams on an already awful road, so that is three years of pain coming up.

Bangkok construction update (2024/2025 edition)