Drought situation easing in east: GPSC boss

He said industrial businesses in the eastern region were cooperating with the government and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand in saving water.
“GPSC has reduced water usage by 10 per cent,” Chawalit said. “Although the drought situation has begun to improve, the government and private sector have to monitor the situation closely. If there are more rains, we will be able to cope with the situation quickly,” he said.
Chawalit said PTT Group is also closely monitoring the drought situation as this could result in water shortage in the eastern region.
“Water is an important resource for industries and consumption, while PTT Group has mainly invested in the eastern region,” he explained.
“Although the National Water Resources Committee [NWRC] cooperated on water storage and diversion, we have to monitor the amount of rainfall in May and June this year,” he said.
“Initially, PTT Group had proposed to the NWRC that it organise bidding for a public-private partnership project to turn saltwater into freshwater, with the project being possibly located at Laem Chabang in Chon Buri or Map Ta Phut in Rayong,” Chawalit said.
“PTT Group is ready to cooperate with several companies, such as PTT Global Chemical and Thaioil, but this depends on the government’s conditions, including which companies are eligible to participate,” he said.
“Meanwhile, the government should provide support in the reclamation of sea and land and ease various taxes because the cost for turning saltwater into freshwater is currently cheaper than before.”
He said that although the Covid-19 crisis has caused the economy to slow, the GPSC was still able to produce and distribute electricity as planned.
“Therefore, we expect our performance in the first quarter to grow as expected,” he added.