Bt227-bn long-term plan drawn up to fight floods

A Bt227-billion flood-prevention plan has been drawn up by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

It will be submitted for the National Water Resource Board's consideration on Monday and then be sent to the Cabinet for budget approval.

The ministry's permanent secretary, Pitipong Puengboon na Ayutthaya, said the plan required Bt20 billion for the first phase this year and Bt207 billion for long-term solutions.

The first phase would include flood barriers in 12 provinces, compensation payments to areas affected by last year's devastating floods and the excavation of canals and water sources to combat flooding.

Pitipong said Natural Resources and Environment Minister Kasem Sanitwong Na Ayudhaya wanted the plan to exclude irrelevant or redundant projects so that it would not be a compilation of mega-projects.

Water Resources Department director-general Siripong Hungspreug said the amount for long-term solutions from 2012 to 2016 was set at Bt207.6 billion.

It would fund the Bt21.9-billion water-origin areas' protection and rehabilitation, the Bt21.3-billion plan to rehabilitate water resources, waterways and wetlands, and Bt140.4-billion projects to improve irrigation and water-diverting systems.

It would also pay for land management and flood prevention in key economic areas (Bt16 billion), agricultural activities' adjustment and land management in flood-containing areas (Bt206 million) and water management and flood prevention in 25 river basins (Bt7.6 billion).

The figures for long-term solutions - to help reduce flood damage to economic zones by 80 per cent and provide early warnings to two million people in flood-risk areas - are still tentative and could decrease, Siripong said.

The flood plan aims to make effective use of money and has clear key performance targets, including the installation of 380 flood and landslide warning systems by 2008 and the installation of a further 1,572 systems by 2011, he said.

The plan also aims to increase existing dams' capacity by 290

million cubic metres in 2008, by 440 million cubic metres by the end of 2009, by 2,170 million cubic metres in 2010 and by 4,320

million cubic metres in 2011.

Agricultural areas containing floodwater during flood seasons would amount to three million rai, Siripong added.

Currently, there are 2,370 villages prone to floods and landslides, while 27.2 million rai of farmland in 12 provinces on the central plain are deemed to have a flood risk of crisis level.

There are also 13 economic and city community zones deemed as having a high risk of flooding, including Bangkok and nearby provinces, Chiang Mai's Muang district and Songkhla's Muang and Hat Yai districts.

The Nation
Thu, February 1, 2007