Water projects awash with uncertainty
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The government's much-trumpeted Bt350-billion master plan to manage water resources and prevent floods countrywide is sailing into a storm, not only because of harsh criticism from opposition politicians and outsiders worried about corruption, but also b
The Water and Flood Management Commission (WFMC), which is in charge of the plan that was born out of the 2011 flood crisis, started out with several prominent experts working eagerly in the hope of changing the country’s approach to water management and flood prevention for the better. However, rifts are now racking the birthplace of the mega-projects under the plan, which has been approved in principle.
Royol Chitradon, director of the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute, hit the headlines when he tendered his resignation on April 17 directly to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, bypassing WFMC chairman Plodprasop Suraswadi.
Has Royol’s move shaken the implementation of the mega-projects? Plodprasop, who is also a deputy prime minister, gave a firm “No”. But the public has seen how Royol’s resignation has dented the WFMC’s credibility. His departure has also raised further doubts about the mega-projects.
And last Thursday, Utain Shartpinyo, a former adviser to Yingluck, petitioned the Central Administrative Court’s Environmental Division to issue an injunction against the acceptance of bids for the project.
Utain claimed that no feasibility studies were conducted before the projects’ terms of reference were drafted and that these projects could cause serious damage to people, their health and their environment.
Utain’s request came at a crucial time, because the WMFC has been inviting qualified business groups to tender their quotes for the project this Friday, May 3.
But even without an injunction, the bidding process has been faltering.
After the conceptual-plan round, only six business groups were qualified to tender for the projects. They are Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water), Thailand-Japan Joint Venture, ITD Power China JV, Team Thailand Joint Venture, Loxley, and Summit SUT Joint Venture Group.
Last week, the Thailand-Japan JV dropped out of the running.
Plodprasop has claimed the consortium’s withdrawal shows that the government’s master plan is very transparent.
He has tried to suggest that because the projects might not yield much in profits, the JV had backed out.
Plodprasop was also keen to list many other possible reasons such as concerns over the guaranteed maximum price and a desire to focus on offering consulting services.
No matter what he says, the point here is that there will be just five bidders left for these projects, which are available in the form of nine modules.
What if more contractors pull out at the last minute?
K-Water and ITD Power China JV are going to have a serious meeting on the projects on Thursday. High on the agenda will be requirements for the winners to deal with land expropriation on their own and to complete construction of the modules within five years.
Royol has said there were some concerns that prompted the Thailand-Japan JV to pull out and he shares those concerns.
Will the five other qualified bidders develop such concerns too and opt out?
Let’s wait and see.
Chularat Saengpassa
