THE LURE OF THE LAKESIDE

Banyan Group's massive new undertaking in Phuket rides on soaring international demand for homes on the island

- TALLULAH LU

High demand is expected to sustain Banyan Group’s plans to create a new US$2 billion international lifestyle community in Phuket. An eco-friendly development, Laguna Lakelands will rise adjacent to Laguna Phuket, a leading destination resort developed by the Group. Phuket’s booming property market is currently bolstered by demand from families with intention to relocate on the island in the southern part of Thailand. The trend is expected to hold and strengthen.

Laguna Lakelands will straddle an area of roughly one million square metres (700 rai or 276 acres) worked into botanical gardens, parks, rainforest, lagoons and rolling hills which will envelope the residential buildings and their facilities. As Phuket’s largest private residential community, it is envisioned to become “a self-contained green sanctuary designed for a new community of global citizens seeking high-quality lifestyle balanced by nature”.

A network encompassing a 15-km walkway, footbridges, and cycling trails will provide access to various amenities within the development, including the residents’ own beach club and country club. Meanwhile, Laguna Lakelands’ nature trails and botanical gardens will also be open to the wider community of Phuket.

A PIONEER’S WORK

Banyan Group’s presence in Phuket goes back three decades with pioneering projects that would later on emerge as instrumental to the development of the area’s tourism potential. Today, its flagship integrated resort, Laguna Phuket, draws about one million visitors a year – about 10% of all visitors to the island.

With recent lifestyle shifts that drive global migration and in turn sustain urban flight, remote working and multi-generational living, the number of visitors to Phuket is on an upswing. The only difference, the Group points out, is that now the focus tends to be on staying rather than just spending a holiday on the island.