BMA finds 13 communities encroaching on Prem Prachakorn canal
A proposed dam construction project along the Prem Prachakorn canal is dealing with 13 areas of encroachments by communities, a top Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) official said.
The Klong Prem Prachakorn Dam Construction Project and Housing Management from Don Muang district in Pathum Thani province to Thetsaban Songkhro Road in Bangkok's Chatuchak district is expected to be completed by 2023.
BMA permanent secretary Silapasuay Raweesangsoon said that contracts for the dam construction project, Section 4 from Chaengwattana Road to Thetsaban Songkhro Road, had already been awarded on December 4, 2020, and work is expected to finish by January 22, 2023.
The work involves dam construction on a canal length of 5,350 metres, equivalent to a dam length of 10,700 metres, including pipeline work to collect wastewater, walkway behind the embankment and steel railing.
Some 1,469 houses of 13 alleged illegal communities are encroaching on the construction area of the canal, the official said. The BMA can negotiate and recover approximately 850 metres from the total area of 10,700 metres, accounting for 8 per cent of the total area of the project, Silapasuay said. The contractors can operate 843 foundation piles from a total of 15,600, accounting for 5.40 per cent of the total number of piles in the project. They have also installed 835 soil retaining panels, 331 metres of drainage work and a 213-metre walkway behind the embankment. Total work on the project is 4.12 per cent complete, he added.
The Prem Prachakorn canal project aims to improve the quality of life of the people in both the community and the city while improving drainage efficiency.