Bangkok court halts river promenade project that would worsen flooding

By Rina Chandran

 

A view of Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, Thailand August 30, 2016. Picture taken August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom - S1BEUKHOUIAA

 

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A court in Bangkok has asked the city's authorities to stop work on a riverside promenade that urban planners and environmentalists said would worsen flooding and uproot hundreds of families dependent on the river to make a living.

 

The administrative court on Wednesday told the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) that the 7-kilometre (4.4 mile)-long elevated promenade on either side of the Chao Phraya river would affect river transport, and damage the ecology.

 

The court gave the BMA 30 days to submit a blueprint for the 8.3-billion baht ($266 million) project, which has drawn criticism since it was proposed several years ago.

 

"The court's decision is a very good one, and shows the court listened to our concerns about the project," said Ajaphol Dusitnanond, president of the Association of Siamese Architects, an industry lobby group in Bangkok.

 

"We all agree the riverside needs redevelopment, but that does not mean we can build into the river and damage its flow. We hope that the BMA will listen to us now," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Thursday.

 

Across booming Asian cities, open spaces and older buildings are making way for expressways and modern apartment towers that critics say rob them of their character, widen inequalities and magnify the harmful effects of urban sprawl.

 

In Bangkok, authorities are clearing vendors and food stalls from the pavements, and have evicted a community of more than 300 people living next to an old fort for a public park that critics say is meant only to impress tourists.

 

Dozens of riverfront communities have already been evicted for the promenade, according to human rights groups.

 

Known as "River of Kings", the Chao Phraya - which flows 372 km from central Thailand to the Gulf of Thailand - was once the commercial and logistical lifeline of the capital.

 

It is still a busy waterway, with ferries and river taxis carrying thousands of passengers every day. Hundreds have lived in traditional wooden stilt homes by its banks for decades.

 

With a record 39 million tourists last year, Bangkok is the world's most visited city, and developers have turned to the riverside to lure more visitors, building malls and converting old warehouses into trendy cafes and art galleries.

 

The BMA has said the promenade will clear the riverbank of illegal encroachments, and open up the river and its historic landmarks to the public with parks, bike paths and walkways.

 

But urban planners and architects say authorities have not assessed the full impact of the project on the city, where flooding is already common during the annual monsoon.

 

"This is more than just a walkway - it's a massive construction in the river, which will narrow the river and affect its flow, and increase the risk of flooding," said Yossapon Boonsom, a landscape architect.

 

"Now the BMA has another chance to consult with practitioners and find a better way," said Yossapon, a member of Riverside Assembly, a group of planners, architects and activists engaged in conserving the Chao Phraya.

 

($1 = 31.1623 Thai baht)

 

(Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran; Editing by Zoe Tabary. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-02-07

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

A friend is on the committee of the Association of Siamese Architects, and I have continuously tried to explain that his arguements are completely wrong. The promenade is designed to strengthen the flood defences along the Chaophraya river banks in Bangkok, not cause flooding. They say that they are concerned about the BMA project getting rid of the ramshackle houses and restaurants built along the river, but these restaurants and food stalls discharge untreated waste into the river. The purpose of the promenade is to get rid of these highly polluting discharges into the river and raise the flood wall. My recommendation, was to incorporate a large collector drain to receive all drainage and carry it down to the treatment plant. This is the same as the London and Paris embankments.

Creating an area/walkway alongside the riverside, which is nothing more than an eyesore at present....ramshackle buildings...the ever present flow of garbage and areas of tidal swamp where no-one can go. 

This proposed development had the chance to beautify this area making it accessible to Bangkok citizens and visitors, but no...the backward thinking oppressors of change, have again won and the shacks and garbage dump eyesores will remain.

 

The best way to reduce flooding would be to clip off the huge river loop in downtown Bangkok and form a "bayou". This would improve the flow characteristics of the river immensely, plus provide a great park with lake or, if filled, much extremely valuable real estate ????

1 hour ago, phantomfiddler said:

The best way to reduce flooding would be to clip off the huge river loop in downtown Bangkok and form a "bayou". This would improve the flow characteristics of the river immensely, plus provide a great park with lake or, if filled, much extremely valuable real estate ????

Plastic, more like .

I guess they ran out of money before a stone was turned. The best kind of projects, trough overflows.

Shame. Bangkok really needs some pedestrian features like this to link up spots along the river.  The development history of the city makes pedestrian access nearly impossible to get between relatively close landmarks. 
 

Took the river taxi recently up to the BoT Museum at Rama 8 bridge, amazed access was so poor.

On 2/7/2020 at 7:59 AM, phantomfiddler said:

The best way to reduce flooding would be to clip off the huge river loop in downtown Bangkok and form a "bayou". This would improve the flow characteristics of the river immensely, plus provide a great park with lake or, if filled, much extremely valuable real estate ????

 

There's already a small channel that could be (relatively) easily enlarged, no high-rises etc. in the way.

 

Just how much effect it would have would need a hydrological study.