The Astra Samui construction timeline: milestones, stages and completion date

The Astra Samui is planned for handover in December 2028, and the published construction milestones run from the sales start on 26 October 2026 to that handover. Everything on this page comes from the developer’s schedule and from our own site updates. Dates are targets: a building programme in Thailand can move with permits, weather, materials and contractors, and nobody can promise a completion date.

This guide is for you if you are weighing an off-plan purchase and want to know what “under construction” means in practice. We list the milestones, explain each stage of building a low-rise condominium, and show what you do at each point. For the legal side of buying before a building exists, read our guide to buying an off-plan condo in Thailand.

At a glance

• Sales start: 26 October 2026
• handover planned for December 2028 (Q4 2028)
• roof structure complete: planned for February 2028
• Environmental approval (EIA) is expected in February 2027. The sale and purchase agreement is signed once it is granted.
• Payments: 30% by 20 December 2026, 30% when the roof structure is complete (planned for February 2028), 40% at handover (planned for December 2028). The developer does not offer financing.
• The developer provides a construction warranty after handover (the period is not stated).

The project is low-rise, resort-style condominium in Bophut, with 3 buildings (A, B and C) and 4 storeys plus a basement level. The developer is a Thai company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), based in Chiang Mai.

When will The Astra Samui be finished?

According to the developer, the handover date is planned for the last quarter of 2028. That is the date at which you can inspect your apartment, pay the final instalment and move towards the transfer of ownership. It is not the date the building is first occupied by owners, and it is not the date your title deed is issued, because registration and transfer come after the building is finished.

Treat the date as a planning target. If you need the apartment by a fixed day, for a school year or a retirement date, leave a margin of several months and ask your adviser how the contract treats delay. A reputable developer will give you the delay terms in the agreement, not in a brochure.

The published milestones

The table lists every milestone we can state from the developer’s data. We add no other dates.

If a milestone moves, we change this page. The “updated” date at the top tells you when we last checked it against the developer’s data.

What happens on site, stage by stage

A low-rise condominium follows a sequence that is similar across Thailand. The notes below describe the general order of work, not the exact programme of The Astra Samui, which the developer has not published stage by stage. Each stage can overlap with the next, and different buildings on one site can be at different stages at once.

Site preparation

The plot is fenced, cleared and levelled. Access for trucks is arranged, a site office and storage are set up, and temporary power and water are connected. Boundary hoarding along the road is usual on a plot beside a busy road, and our first site update shows it. This stage is quiet and easy to underestimate, but it is where the programme starts.

Piling

On soft or mixed ground, piles carry the building load down to firmer soil. A piling rig drives or bores them in, and the rig is often the first big machine you see on a plot. Piling is noisy and slow, and it can be done building by building, which is why a site can show piles in one corner and bare ground elsewhere.

Foundations and ground slab

Concrete caps are poured over the pile heads and tied together with beams, then a ground slab is cast. Reinforcing bars are left standing out of the concrete where the columns will rise. Formwork, steel and concrete deliveries are the signs of this stage. Our July 2026 update describes one slab of this kind.

Structure

The frame goes up floor by floor: columns, beams and slabs. For a building of 4 storeys plus a basement level, the structure takes a long part of the programme, because each floor needs formwork, steel, pouring and curing time before the next can start. Walls are usually built after the frame.

Roof

The developer has chosen hipped roofs, warm timber slats and tropical greenery, kept to simple forms, warm colours and carefully chosen materials. A hipped roof frame is built on top of the structure and then covered. The developer has linked the second payment to this stage: roof structure complete: planned for February 2028. Once the roof is on, the interior can be worked on away from the rain, which is why it is a natural milestone.

Services

Plumbing, electrics, air-conditioning, lifts, fire systems and drainage are installed through the structure. The pool, gardens and shared areas are built in parallel. The project plans a 70 m tropical lagoon pool, 3 lobbies and a lounge and key-card access and CCTV, according to the developer.

Finishing

Floors, ceilings, kitchens, bathrooms, doors, windows, paint and fixtures go in, followed by furniture where it is included. Details of what is included are on the furnishing page. Finishing is where quality shows, so it is the stage where the snagging list at handover matters most.

Technical handover and registration

Before units are handed over, the developer completes the building inspection, obtains the permits that confirm the building is complete and registers the property as a condominium with the Land Office. This registration creates the individual units that can be owned and transferred. For the legal detail, see our guide to the condo title deed in Thailand.

Handover and transfer of ownership

You inspect the apartment, list any defects and pay the final instalment. Ownership transfers at the Land Office, where the transfer fee is paid. According to the developer, Transfer fee: 2%, split equally (1% paid by the buyer). After that the construction warranty applies: The developer provides a construction warranty after handover (the period is not stated)..

Stage by stage: what you do as a buyer

The actions in the right-hand column are the ones that tie up your time and money. The left-hand column is what we aim to show you with dated photographs.

Payments tied to the building stages

The payment plan is the reason the timeline matters to you. According to the developer, Payments: 30% by 20 December 2026, 30% when the roof structure is complete (planned for February 2028), 40% at handover (planned for December 2028). The developer does not offer financing. The reservation fee comes first: Reservation fee: THB 100,000 (studio, 1 bedroom or 1 bedroom plus) or THB 150,000 (2 bedrooms), fully refundable until 20 November 2026, 17:00.

That means two of your three payments are linked to dates that can move. The first is fixed to a calendar date. The second depends on the roof structure, and the third on handover. If construction runs ahead of or behind plan, the date you owe each payment moves with it. Ask how the milestone is confirmed, who confirms it and how much notice you receive before payment falls due.

For overseas buyers, the currency rule affects every instalment: For foreign freehold, funds must come from abroad in a foreign currency (not Thai baht). The buyer pays any transfer charges. Plan your transfers early, and keep the bank receipts, because they support the registration at the Land Office. Our guide to Thailand condo buying costs lists the other costs on top of the price.

The environmental approval and what it changes

Environmental approval (EIA) is expected in February 2027. The sale and purchase agreement is signed once it is granted. In practice, this means the SPA, the document that sets your rights and the developer’s duties, comes after the approval. The reservation agreement comes first, and it is a different and shorter document. Read the difference in our guide to the condo reservation agreement.

Two points are worth raising with your adviser. First, ask what happens to your reservation if the approval is delayed or refused, and whether the fee is refunded. Second, ask how the construction programme depends on the approval. Our site update shows what is visible from the air today. It cannot tell you which permits the developer holds.

Why dates move

A target date is the developer’s plan at one moment. Reasons for change include permits and inspections, monsoon rain and a wet season that on the Gulf coast runs longer than in much of Thailand, shipping of materials to an island, the availability of skilled crews and design changes. An unusually short schedule deserves the same suspicion as a vague one.

What we do about it is simple. We quote the developer’s dates with attribution, we do not forecast, and we post dated evidence rather than percentages. If you hear a completion date from anyone that is more precise than the published one, ask where it comes from.

Reading photographs and renders together

The renders on this site show the intended result, and the drone photographs show the site today. They will look very different for a long time, and that is normal.

Use the renders, such as the one below, to judge design, and use the dated photographs to judge pace. A gap between the two is not a warning sign by itself. A gap that keeps widening with no new photographs is a reason to ask questions.

Compare like with like when you look at updates. The same viewpoint, the same time of day and a stated date make two photographs comparable. We keep the date in every title so that the order is clear.

Weather and the building season

Koh Samui is on the Gulf of Thailand, where the heavy rain lasts later in the year than in much of the country. Our Koh Samui weather guide explains the months. Wet weather slows earthworks, concrete pours and roof work more than interior fitting, so a rainy quarter on site can show less progress than a dry one. This is one reason we post dated evidence, not a percentage.

Selling before the building is finished

According to the developer, Resale before handover is possible once the 30% down payment is paid. Changing the buyer’s name has a cost: Changing the buyer’s name: THB 5,000 administrative fee, once the down payment is paid and the SPA signed. A resale is possible, not assured, because you still need a buyer, and a buyer takes on the remaining payments. Our guide to selling a condo in Thailand covers the process after handover.

After handover: the warranty

The developer provides a construction warranty after handover (the period is not stated). Because the period is not stated, ask for it in the contract. Also ask how defects are reported, how quickly the developer must respond, and whether the warranty covers structure, waterproofing and fittings separately. Snagging at handover and the warranty work together: record every defect on the day, with photographs.

What “roof structure complete” means

This phrase appears most often in the contract and in conversation with the developer, because the second payment depends on it. A roof structure complete means the frame of the building is finished and covered by the roof, while the interiors are not. There are no floors, kitchens, bathrooms or paint yet, and the services are still under way. What matters to you is that this stage can be seen from outside and photographed, which is why it works as a milestone.

Ask two questions. First, how the contract defines the stage: does it apply to all three buildings or to each one, and does it mean the roof is built or also accepted? Second, whether the instalment falls due at the first finished building or the last. The answers decide when exactly you pay the 30%. According to the developer, roof structure complete: planned for February 2028

Reading the payment plan in practice

The payment plan is simple on paper and takes three actions in practice. Put the dates and conditions in your calendar as soon as you sign. Check with your bank how long a foreign-currency transfer takes from your country, because the currency rule applies to every instalment. And leave room for exchange-rate movement, because prices in THB are binding and your own currency can move between signing and the instalment.

Remember the difference between a fixed date and a date tied to a stage. You know the first instalment to the day. The second and third you can only expect roughly, so fund them as if you might be ready several months earlier or later. The developer does not offer financing, so the plan has to rest on your own funds. Our guide to Thailand condo buying costs covers what else to budget for.

A buyer’s checklist during construction

• Put the dates and conditions of all three payments in your calendar.
• Keep transfer receipts and the reservation agreement in one place.
• Ask for a written definition of the roof structure milestone.
• Find out who tells you when a milestone is reached, and how.
• Read the SPA clauses on delay, compensation and termination.
• Ask about the warranty period and how defects are reported.
• Check how a change of buyer works if you want to resell before handover.
• Before handover, prepare a checklist and choose someone to inspect with you.

We will cover the handover inspection in a separate guide once it has been through legal review. Until then, your adviser can give you the current procedure.

What we do not promise here

This page does not forecast dates or prices, give a percentage of completion or say what the apartment will be worth when finished. We quote the developer’s dates, show dated photographs and tell you what to ask. The rest is your decision, best taken after talking to a lawyer and to an adviser in the country where you pay tax.

How to follow the progress

You have four ways to follow The Astra Samui as it is built.

1. This site-update series. We publish a dated entry when the developer sends new drone photographs or reports. The first is the July 2026 construction update.
2. Developer reports. Ask your sales adviser for the latest official material and the date it was produced.
3. A site visit. When you are on Koh Samui, we can arrange a visit to the site and the sales gallery. Book a time on our book a call page.
4. An independent look. If you cannot visit, a local engineer or surveyor can inspect for you at key points, such as before you pay the second instalment.

A photograph shows a state on a date. It does not show quality behind the finish, so for a paid inspection use a person qualified to read the structure.

What to ask before you commit

• Which milestone triggers each payment, and who confirms it has been reached?
• What are the delay terms in the SPA, and what happens if the approval is late?
• What is the warranty period and what does it cover?
• Which areas are shared and when will they be finished?
• How is the buyer’s name changed if I resell?

Our how to buy page lists the steps in order, and the prices page shows the indicative launch prices, before promotions. The project page has the layout and facilities.

Sources and updates

The milestones come from the developer’s published data, which we hold in a single file and refresh when it changes. Descriptions of construction stages are general and do not describe a specific programme. Check legal points with a lawyer who knows Thai property law before you sign.