Krabi residents demand details on coal power plant, threaten major protests

The locals say they lack confidence that it will be safe and fear health and environmental impacts. Many residents worry that it will be like the Mae Moh power plant in Lampang and have warned EGAT to reveal details soon – or they will organise a major protest movement. 

Ban Laem Hin resident Janira Klong-rua said her family, who have been involved in fishing for generations, were shocked that EGAT would build the port in her village and the power plant near Khlong Pakasai, not far from her home. “We fear subsequent health and environmental impacts,” she said.

Krabi Fisheries Association president Manit Damkul said the project would affect livelihood of fishermen and locals.

“How can we be confident that no coal will not leak into the sea and rivers to affect the ecosystem. The coal could cause toxins affecting marine life and people who eat them … transporting coal from Indonesia will pass through Tambons Koh Sri Boya and Taling Chan, which are fishing areas. The sea here is not deep so they will have to dredge deep channels to support coal-transport vessels, which will inevitably change the ecosystem,” he said.

The fishery industry generated at least Bt300 million a year for Krabi and would surely be affected, Manit said.

Krabi Industry Council chairman Amarit Siripornjuthakul said the project went against a policy to develop Krabi as a green city and as a “Ramsar Site” wetland area. The plant would tarnish Krabi tourism and make its environment look bad, affecting tourist numbers and income, he said. 

“We want Krabi to be a green city, free from pollution, so it can attract tourists. If there is the port and power plant, how can we be sure there won’t be health and environment impacts” Amarit said.

Dr Preecha Prempree, director of the Occupational and Environmental Diseases Bureau at the Disease Control Department, said the coal transport system could yield coal dust – which could cause pneumoconiosis, respiratory diseases, heart disease and high blood pressure. He said the coal combustion would produce contaminated water or vapour as well as carbon dioxide, methane, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and chemicals, which could leak into the local ecosystem if there was a lack of good management. 

“If a coal-powered plant were built, there would be impacts from transport of the coal, the process of turning coal into heat,” he said.

People in Krabi and various local organisations claim they have not heard details about environmental and health impacts. They said they are not confident in public hearings about the plan because many locals still don’t know about it, despite claims it has already “passed” three public hearings.

Anuchart Palakawong Na Ayuthaya, head of environmental management for EGAT’s Coal Power Plant Project, said Krabi used to have enough lignite for mining and that lignite was used to generate electricity before they shifted to bunker oil. EGAT imports coal from other countries – while also working on alternative energy, he added. 

“The South’s demand for electricity is rising at about 5 per cent a year or 2,500 megawatts. It’s expected that demand will be 3,200 megawatts soon due to expansion of tourism and industry,” he said. If nothing was done to meet rising demand, the region would face power shortages in 2019. 

He said EGAT studied whether the project was appropriate and followed the government’s policy to diversify sources of power – so it was up to the Prayut government to decide. 

He thought the port and power plant would be approved next year – for a coal plant that would take 44 months to build. It would provide commercial power by late 2019.

However, a study on the Krabi power plant by Kasetsart University economics lecturer Dechrat Sukkamnerd gave a very different account – saying demand for power in the South had dropped over the past three years. Dechrat’s study said the existing power generating system had reserved power of 30 per cent and the figure was likely to reach 40 per cent, so there was no need for more power plants until 2025.

This project is being scrutinised by a specialist committee before it will be sent to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning for review by the National Environment Board, before it is put to Cabinet.