Industrial estates in Prachin Buri 'high and dry'
AUTHORITIES HAVE inspected industrial estates in provinces hit by flooding and insist they are not at risk of inundation.
“We are confident there will be no flooding,” Industry Minister Prasert Boonchaisuk said yesterday.
More than 50 small factories outside industrial parks in seven provinces have been affected by flooding, and some had been forced to suspend operations, he said.
Many factory estates were heavily damaged during the flood crisis of 2011, which cost the country billions.
Verapong Chaiperm, governor of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, said an around-the-clock monitoring system had been set up at 16 industrial parks prone to flooding.
“There is a contingency plan in case of emergency or flooding, as well as frequent drills. We also have a quick-response plan,” he said.
Even though the eastern province of Prachin Buri was heavily swamped, industrial estates said they were out of danger.
“We’re located on a hill and it’s about 10 kilometres from the flooded area,” said Thanong Srijit, vice president of Saha Pathana Inter Holding and an executive of Kabinburi Industrial Estate.
The company had no plan to deal with possible water intrusion because the plants were sitting on land nine metres above the road.
The estate was on much higher ground than communities around the local market in Kabin Buri, which was under water, he said.
Thawit Techanawakul, chairman of Hi-Tech Kabin Logistics, also said the company’s Hi-Tech Kabin Industrial Park was safely perched atop a hill that was about 10 metres higher than the lowest lying area.
It also had a contingency plan. Two large reservoirs with combined capacity of 1.5 million cubic metres have been prepared to drain away floodwater. So there was no need to build floodwalls around the compound, he said.
