Siam Piwat is investing THB10 billion ($300m) in ICONPHUKET, a retail, attractions and entertainment destination due to open in Phuket in 2029.
The project will mark a major expansion beyond Bangkok for Siam Piwat Group, the Thai retail and real estate developer behind Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery and joint owner of ICONSIAM and Siam Premium Outlets Bangkok.
ICONPHUKET will form the centrepiece of Synthesis Ark Phuket, a THB50 billion ($1.5 billion) mixed-use development along Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang.
ICONPHUKET to anchor Synthesis Ark Phuket
The wider scheme is being developed by CV Group of Companies, the Thai business group behind Synthesis Ark Phuket, on a 491-rai (194-acre) site in Si Sunthon, Thalang district.
RSP Singapore’s masterplanning team and RSP Vietnam co-designed the masterplan. Based on a 15-minute-neighbourhood model, it brings residential, workplace, education, hospitality, retail, wellness and leisure uses together across the site.
RSP said the planning team addressed constraints including access, ecology, the mix of uses and an existing high-voltage corridor through measures including an ecological spine, revised circulation and the organisation of different functions across the site.
The land was previously part of Phuket’s tin-mining industry and later became a Vanich family oil-palm plantation before CV Group launched Synthesis Ark Phuket on the site.
ICONPHUKET is planned as a major component of the wider scheme. Siam Piwat said it will combine retail, tourism, entertainment, public space and landscaped areas, with space also intended for products and businesses from Southern Thailand’s 14 provinces.
First Synthesis Ark district to open in 2028
Synthesis Ark Phuket is being developed in stages, with its first district scheduled to open before ICONPHUKET.
The Nexus will occupy 30 rai fronting Thepkrasattri Road and is due to open in 2028. It comprises four buildings, including more than 10,000m2 of office space, a 70-room hotel, an open-air retail and lifestyle component and a wellness and aesthetic centre.
Later districts are planned to introduce residential, hospitality and community uses. The Synthesis Ark masterplan also provides for education, including an international school, while the ICONPHUKET announcement lists serviced apartments and health and wellness facilities among the wider development’s uses.
Synthesis Ark says its masterplan will continue to be developed in phases through the 2030s.
12 attractions planned for ICONPHUKET
Siam Piwat describes ICONPHUKET as a hybrid retail, attraction and entertainment destination, with 12 attractions planned for Thai and international visitors.
One-third of the project is expected to be allocated to attractions and entertainment, while more than 40% will comprise green and open spaces.
Plans also include green technologies, resource-efficiency systems and smart mobility measures. Siam Piwat said it is working with local communities, government agencies and private-sector partners on the project, which will also provide space for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), community enterprises and products from across Southern Thailand.
The company said ICONPHUKET is intended to give businesses and communities across the region access to a larger visitor market while showcasing products, arts and cultural elements from the 14 southern provinces.
ICONPHUKET opening targeted for 2029
Siam Piwat expects ICONPHUKET to attract between 80,000 and 100,000 visitors a day once fully operational.
It also estimates that the development could support between 50,000 and 80,000 jobs from construction through to full operations and help increase visitor stays and tourism spending across Southern Thailand.
ICONPHUKET is scheduled to open in 2029, a year after the planned opening of The Nexus. Siam Piwat said further details of ICONPHUKET will be announced in the coming months.
