Bt5 bn set aside for 117 initial projects

Yingluck said 1.5million rai had been set for use as watercatchment areas and it should store some 4.9 billion cubic metres of water. She added that the government would be able to mark out a total of 2million rai for this purpose by the end of this month. 

Citing the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management’s master plan, the premier said: “Water must have a place to stay and a place to go. People should be taken care of, communities and key economic areas – as well as ancient sites – should be protected, while farmlands, waterretaining areas and floodways need to be treated fairly and appropriately.” 

Teams have been assigned to follow up on four groups of provinces as per the master plan: 10 waterorigin provinces; six upper midstream provinces; eight lower midstream provinces; and seven downstream provinces including Bangkok.

Yingluck said Bt4.998 billion had been approved for the 117 “flagship” projects, which includes improving Bangkok’s drainage system as well as building and repairing floodwalls, installing movable flood barriers and building/strengthening walls around industrial estates. She said these projects should be completed in three months, adding that the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry would formulate plans to provide underground water for consumption and farming nationwide. 

 Meanwhile, the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry, in cooperation with the Interior Ministry, the Office of the Royal Development Projects Boards and the Army, will reforest about 330,000 rai to improve the ecosystem of Ping, Wang, Yom, Nan, Sakaekrang and Pasak river basins in three months, Yingluck said. 

Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit and Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Surassawadee will have agencies’ information systems for disaster warning linked up within three months. The linkup will involve three key tools: the National Water Information Centre serving as a data warehouse and following up in realtime via CCTV; disasterwarning system including warnings via smartphones, the Internet, social media, call centres linked community broadcasts and other media; as well as a decisionsupport system. 

In addition, Yingluck said the management of the country’s 33 major dams will have to be more balanced during the rainy and drought seasons. She added that under new rules, Sirikit and Bhumibhol dams’ minimum level has been set at 45percent of their total capacity, so this year they should be able to hold 12 billion cubic metres of water – 5 billion more than last year. 

Providing details of flood barriers and the improvement of drainage systems in midstream and downstream provinces, Yingluck added that floodtackling measures in Ayutthaya would not just focus on the protection of industrial estates but also on solving logistics, distribution and transport problems, especially the case of prolonged flooding. She said that Bt775 million had already been allocated for repairing the 158 flooddamaged ancient sites in Ayutthaya, Sing Buri, Angthong and Saraburi.

Also yesterday, Yingluck visited Pathum Thani’s Chulalongkorn watergate where she was warmly welcomed by many redshirt supporters. 

At the gathering, Deputy Interior Minister Choochart Harnsawas asked the premier to explain what would happen to people in Pathum Thani if all the flood water was directed to the Khlong Prapa waterworks canal to protect Ayutthaya. Yingluck cut him short by saying that everything had been covered in SCWRM’s master plan and that she would table his concerns at the next meeting. 

Meanwhile, the Royal Irrigation Department’s representative admitted that Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani needed to discuss the problems further, especially on the issues of building additional dykes around Sam Wa, Hok Wa and Rangsit canals and whether Nonthaburi’s Tiwanont Road would be raised by 50cm in three months.