Protesters return home after Krabi power plant project suspended
Anti coal-fired power plant protesters cheered and returned home Sunday afternoon after the government agreed to suspend construction of the Krabi coal-fired power plant pending a new Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) study and new public participation process.
Many protesters burst into tears of happiness after hearing that all captured protest leaders were released and the entire process of Krabi coal-fired power plant will be restarted.
Supaporn Malailoi, a protest leader, told them that from the information she has got, the government decided to restart the EHIA process and if Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) wants to continue the project, it will have to start it from the beginning.
“The protesters are happy with this decision of the government and we decided to return home. However, we do not feel absolutely relieved by this move and we will wait for the official statement from the government about this decision,” Supaporn said.
The government spokesperson Lt Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd also confirmed the information and stated that the government realised that the protesters understood the need for more power plant in the South, but they doubted the transparency of the public participation process.
Therefore, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the entire EHIA study of the project to be improved according to the suggestions from the Tripartite Committee.
However, the spokesman did not confirm that the government will issue the official order on this matter as a Cabinet resolution on Tuesday.