Pattaya authorities have started the restoration of eroded beaches. The strand between the 5-star Dusit Thani Pattaya and the Walking Street will be repaired and the beach will be widened to 50 m.
To repair the 2.8 km stretch of receding beachfront, 360,000 cubic meters of sand are required. A sand source is reported to have been found near Koh Rangkwian, about 10 km from Koh Larn. Dredging and transport barges are already being deployed at the site. Machines and equipment will soon be brought on to Pattaya beach.
The beach will be restored about 300 meters at a time, and work is expected to be completed by October, when the high season kicks off.
A 2016 survey identified Pattaya as being among ten areas with beaches at risk of disappearing within a decade unless measures were taken to stop the erosion. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, around 670 km of Thailand’s 3,000 km coastline is losing an average of five meters a year.
Any change to the sand on the beach must be approved by the provincial environment protection committee. The replacement should be identical to the existing sand in terms of color, grain size, and mineral composition.
The beach restoration project was commenced in 2016 but suspended due to scarcity of raw materials.