Plodprasop proposes flood-prevention dam for Bangkok

In his capacity as chairman of the Water and Flood Management Commission, Plodprasop said the new dam would block sea inflow. It would not be funded by the already approved Bt120-billion and Bt350-billion flood-prevention budgets.
The dam would either close the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, which is only a few kilometres long, or block a 109km section from the Mae Klong to the Bang Pakong River to prevent flooding in Samut Sakhon, Samut Song-khram, Samut Prakan, Cha-choengsao and Bangkok, he said.
“If we don’t have enough money, we will protect Bangkok by closing the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, but if we think the other spots are also important, we can block the flow of water from the Mae Klong to the Bang Pakong,” he said.
This project, which has been under study for more than a year, would not be unusual because there are plenty of such dams in Europe, including the one currently being built in the Italian city of Venice, he said. Plodprasop added that the Thai project should be completed during this government’s term.