Phuket, Thailand -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/04/2011 -- Due to the rising popularity of Phuket with boating enthusiasts, trying to find a berth for your yacht on the Island can be quite a task during Phuket’s high season, November to January.

The current number of wet berths in Phuket totals 711 and is made up of; Royal Phuket Marina (81 wet berths), Phuket Boat Lagoon (180 wet berths), Yacht Haven (200 wet berths), Ao Por Grand Marina (200 wet berths) and Chalong Marina (50 wet berths).

In an attempt to improve this situation, a proposal has been submitted for a new marina fifty kilometres across the sea from Phuket Boat Lagoon and three kilometres from Krabi. If the project goes ahead, Port Takola Marina will be located on the site of a former shrimp farm at the mouth of the Krabi River.

Phase one of the project is scheduled to be completed in 2012 and will provide two hundred and fifty berths for yachts between ten and thirty five metres in length.

“There will be quite a significant boatyard, with plenty of storage for yachts, which is always a service in demand from foreign-owned yachts, which may want to lay up during the monsoon. There aren’t many marinas with sufficient space offering that service,” commented the Marina’s designer and former managing director of Camper & Nicholsons Marinas, Simon Arrol.

The estimated cost of Phase one is 680 million baht (US$22.1 million) and includes the cost of the land. A second phase is also planned and will provide larger berths for the growing number of super yachts in the region, although no details have been released at this time.

“There is demand for berths larger than thirty five meters, and whilst we do have some ideas about providing these in the future, for the time being we are focusing on completing the marina as presently designed,” Arrol added.

The project will also feature residential properties including villas with private berths.

So far, reaction to the new marina has been positive; “Having this additional marina in Krabi up and running will offer a perfect stopover for any of the yachts based in Phuket,” commented Gareth Twist, managing director of Ruea Yachts, the super yacht division of Yacht Solutions Phuket.

Although Port Takola Marina may ease Phuket’s burden it’s clear many more berths are required in Phuket itself. To this end, plans are already being considered for two new super yacht marinas in Phuket; one on Phuket’s East Coast and another in Phang Nga province on the Thai mainland, just north of Phuket.

Article source... http://blog.phuketoceanvillas.com/new-super-yacht-marinas-for-krabi-and-phuket-thailand/

Rebecca Smith
Phuket Ocean Villas - http://www.phuketoceanvillas.com