Thailand emerging from waters at haste

Thailand emerging from waters at haste. It won’t be long before we would refer to the Great 2011 Floods as History. The New Year will positively be a Happy One !

Floodwaters are decreasing in many areas in Bangkok and the provinces, showing a sign of improvement in the overall flooding situation in Thailand.

Almost 18 Billion Baht Approved for Four Flood Recovery Projects
The Cabinet, during its meeting on November 15, approved a budget of more than 17.9 billion baht for four major projects to support flood recovery and the rehabilitation of infrastructure that has been damaged by the flooding.


The decision came after a joint meeting of the Flood Recovery and Restoration Committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyoot Wichaidit, and the Flood Recovery and Restoration Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by Transport Minister Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol Suwanatat.

The first project, involving an amount of 489.20 million baht, seeks to restore the runways, the taxiways, and other facilities at Don Mueang Airport. The restoration work, to be carried out by Airports of Thailand Public Company, will be completed within 60 days. The second project, to be carried out by the Department of Highways, seeks to urgently repair 708 highways. This project involves an amount of almost 11.9 billion baht.
The third project, involving a budget of 4.59 billion baht, calls for the rehabilitation of 549 rural roads. It will be carried out by the Department of Rural Roads. The fourth project, which involves 956.29 million baht, seeks to restore 790 flood-hit educational institutions and offices under the supervision of the Ministry of Education.

The Cabinet heard a report, submitted by the Ministry of Industry, on the protection and rehabilitation of flood-hit industrial estates, industrial zones, and industrial parks. According to the report, seven industrial estates, industrial zones, and industrial parks in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani provinces have suffered from the flooding since early October 2011. They include Saha Rattana Nakorn, Hi-Tech, Bang Pa-in, Rojana, Factory Land, Nava Nakorn, and Bangkadi. It is expected that flood waters will be drained from all these workplaces during the month of December.

The report also said that the Ministry of Industry had mobilized forces from various agencies to protect eight industrial estates from floods. The eight industrial estates include Bangchan, Lat Krabang, Gemopolis, Bang Phli, Bangpu, Wellgrow, Sinsakorn, and Samut Sakhon. They are now considered safe from inundation.
The Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Public Health are working in an integrated manner to ensure that water drained from various affected industrial estates, industrial zones, and industrial parks will not cause health and environmental hazards.
In the same Cabinet meeting, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives submitted a report on the impact of floods on the country’s agriculture. It said that 11.2 million rai, or about 4.5 million acres, of farmland was likely to be damaged. The Bureau of the Budget has allocated almost 4.4 billion baht for the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives to assist affected farmers.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands has expressed its readiness to work with Thai experts in tackling the flood problem in Thailand. Ambassador of the Netherlands to Thailand, H.E. Mr. Johannes Andries Boer, led a group of Dutch water experts to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on November 14. Prime Minister Yingluck thanked the ambassador and the group of experts for their advice in dealing with the problem, as the Netherlands is well-known for its expertise in flood control. She also told the authorities involved to consider adopting the useful advice.

The Ministry of Energy and the Federation of Thai Industries are joining hands in encouraging flood-hit factories whose machines have been damaged to replace them with energy-saving machinery. Emphasis is placed on small and medium-sized enterprises. A budget of 1.5 billion baht, derived from the Energy Conservation Fund, will be set aside for the project. Each selected SME joining the project will receive a fund of up to 500,000 baht to change their machines. It is expected that at least 2,000 SMEs will be entitled to the subsidy. The Ministry of Energy and the Federation of Thai Industries will send experts to inspect damaged factories that need to replace their equipment.

The Title ‘Land of Smiles’ shall be restored to the country much sooner than expected, and the world shall again say ‘Amazing Thailand’ !