Group protests Krabi waste-to-energy project

The power plant is planned for the local landfill of Krabi Municipality, which is near their community. Protest signs have been installed since Friday under the leadership of group president, Warrant Officer 1st Class Panya Hiran.
“The plant will be built near our community school and temple. If there’s a waste-to-energy plant here, there will be a health and environment impact as it requires about 400 tonnes of trash a day to produce electricity. This will cause pollution, dust and smoke,” he said.
The landfill covers 251 rai of land and has been open since 1997. There is already around 600,000 tonnes of refuse and Krabi Municipality is preparing to open phase 3 of the landfill with an Bt80 million budget to accept about 170 tonnes of rubbish a day from other local organisations.
Deputy Krabi Mayor, Pompetch Sukonthanit, said the power plant would be paid for by the private sector and was awaiting approval from the Ministry of Interior. After that, there would be a discussion about the technical details.
He said there would be a public hearing to provide a voice for the people who say they will be affected by the power plant. This project is expected to take two years to construct.
Some members of the Baan Nai Chong preservation group say they have received threatening calls from a brother of a former national politician warning them not to oppose the power plant project.
The group members have already reported the threats to local police.