Swift Comeback Seen For Plants: Thailand Flood

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INDUSTRIAL PARKS

Swift comeback seen for plants

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said he was confident that more than 50 per cent of the industrial estates would go into operation within 45 days once the floods start receding.

Under a measure to help factories resume operation, the government will provide generators to power up machinery once water has been pumped out of each factory.

It will also urgently approve work permits for foreign experts to help repair damaged machinery. Many local banks have also confirmed that they will provide funds to help factories start operating as soon as possible.

The government will also encourage banks to provide soft loans for private enterprises and borrow money from overseas to facilitate the private sector and restore growth.

So far, many financial institutions such as the World Bank, and Asian Development Bank are ready to provide loans, he said, adding that there should be no worries about Thailand not being able to pay back the money because it should recover rapidly with cooperation from the private sector.

He added that the government would continue to promote domestic consumption using its populist policies such as increasing the minimum wage and helping first-time buyers of cars and homes.

However, he acknowledged that the heavy flooding had slowed down export growth since last month and it would continue to drop until the first quarter of next year.

Yet Kittiratt said he was confident that exports would gradually recover by March because many factories should be up and running soon.

He said the Export Promotion Department should urgently speak to trading partners and assure them that Thailand is well capable of serving their demands.

Meanwhile, the government is planning to revise the Kingdom's export target once the flood damage is assessed.

In the first nine months of this year, Thailand's exports jumped 25.5 per cent to US$179.57 billion (Bt5.57 trillion), while the value of imports rose 30 per cent to $174.29 billion, leading to a trade surplus of $5.28 billion.

In September alone, export value rose by 19.1 per cent to $21.51 billion, of which imports accounted for $21.27 billion, up by 41.9 per cent with a trade surplus of $238 million.

Deputy Commerce Minister Siriwat Kachornprasart said yesterday that most of the exports in September were farm products, though industrial goods such as printing and rubber products, plastic pellets and plastic products, car and car parts, electrical appliances and electronic parts were also exported in large quantities.

However, overseas demand for gems and jewellery, gold, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment and toys is dropping.

Imports focused mainly on capital goods, including oil worth $3.45 billion, consumer goods, raw and semi-raw materials, and cars and car parts.

Siriwat added that the European countries accounted for 15.5 per cent of the key export markets, Japan for 14.6 per cent and the United States for 4.1 per cent. High export-growth markets involved South Korea, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and CIS countries.

The minister also insisted that Thailand would be able to achieve the 15-per-cent export growth projected, though the export value for next year would have to be reviewed and relevant associations should soon come up with a plan to drive export growth.

In addition, the value of border trade with Malaysia, Burma, Laos and Cambodia grew 22.6 per cent to Bt78.4 billion in September, with exports accounting for 24 per cent or Bt49.95 billion of it, up by 20.1 per cent, while imports accounted for Bt28.45 billion, showing a 20.1-per-cent increase.

During the first nine months, the total value of cross-border trade value rose 16.3 per cent to Bt679.97 billion.

-- The Nation 2011-10-22

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ANALYSIS

Learn from past mistakes and protect the rest

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation

The authorities should learn from their failure in protecting industrial estates like Nava Nakorn and Bang Kadi and dispatch a team of experts and soldiers to save industrial parks like Lat Krabang from getting submerged in the days to come.

Nava Nakorn and Bang Kadi industrial estates in Pathum Thani province ended up getting submerged because the authorities, both at the estate and government levels, were disorganised, complacent, lacked knowledge about the power of the floods and over estimated the strength and reliability of flood barriers. Both the estates, now left dealing with huge damages, had refused to launch any coordinated efforts to enlist help from volunteers and told this writer just hours before the flood barriers were breached that they were okay and would be able to keep the water at bay.

On Thursday, a contributor to the prachatai.com online newspaper, who reportedly lives in the Nava Nakorn estate, wrote that infighting, complacency and the lack of preparation by the estates' management were the main reasons for the failure to defend Nava Nakorn. The contributor added that though soldiers were there, the officer in charge did not have the power to make any important decisions on his own.

Now, in order to avoid a repeat of past mistakes, the government should dispatch a competent team of experts to all industrial estates at risk. The team should include people who know about the force of water, so that they can make the best estimate of the magnitude, power and flow of water expected to hit each estate on the flood path. The team should also include dambuilding experts so they can to assess the strength of existing flood barriers and how they can be effectively reinforced, and at least one welleducated middleranking Army officer who can make decisions about the manpower on the ground. In addition, each industrial estate should enlist manpower from other factories not at risk.

Repeating what the authorities did, or did not do, in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani would be like taking more of the same wrong medicine.

-- The Nation 2011-10-22

[tomross46]

It is apparent that CM Kittiratt, has never worked in a factory. How can the Industrial Plants like Toyota, Hana, Western Digital, Hana and Toshiba be back into operation in 45 days, when it will take longer than that to get the water out. After the water is gone all wireing MUst be varified and checked, piping for air must be flushed and dried, cooling system will have to be cleaned.

If the factory is working under a temperature and humidity control, than all heppa filters will have to be replaced, at the cost of hundreds of US$ each. All raised flooring will have to be removed to chect for moisture and contamination..

This can not be done in 45 days!

[robblok]

It is apparent that CM Kittiratt, has never worked in a factory. How can the Industrial Plants like Toyota, Hana, Western Digital, Hana and Toshiba be back into operation in 45 days, when it will take longer than that to get the water out. After the water is gone all wireing MUst be varified and checked, piping for air must be flushed and dried, cooling system will have to be cleaned.

If the factory is working under a temperature and humidity control, than all heppa filters will have to be replaced, at the cost of hundreds of US$ each. All raised flooring will have to be removed to chect for moisture and contamination..

This can not be done in 45 days!

This is Thailand they need to give good news. Even if it is not true. Just like the tourist minister, science minister, agricultural minister.

[DP25]

In the first nine months of this year, Thailand's exports jumped 25.5 per cent to US$179.57 billion (Bt5.57 trillion)

If that would have continued for the rest of the year at that rate, exports for the year would have been $239 billion, versus $196 billion last year. It will be interesting to see what the figure for the year ends up being due to the flood.

[zydeco]

It is apparent that CM Kittiratt, has never worked in a factory. How can the Industrial Plants like Toyota, Hana, Western Digital, Hana and Toshiba be back into operation in 45 days, when it will take longer than that to get the water out. After the water is gone all wireing MUst be varified and checked, piping for air must be flushed and dried, cooling system will have to be cleaned.

If the factory is working under a temperature and humidity control, than all heppa filters will have to be replaced, at the cost of hundreds of US$ each. All raised flooring will have to be removed to chect for moisture and contamination..

This can not be done in 45 days!

What else are you going to tell one million "displaced workers" and their families? Once they realize the truth, it's 50/50 they either march on Rome, er, uh, Bangkok or turn on the local government representatives for destroying what little they already had. Which way will they go? That is the big question post flood.

[AlanL1275]

A Long Road Ahead,All the industry that has been damaged will need to repaired at the same time. The damage that has occurred will require thousands of skilled, specialized, workers to perform the repairs. Not just unskilled laborers. There will not be enough manpower, nor materials, to go around. It has taken years to build these industries and will require plenty of time to put them back to normal. Maybe skilled labor can be brought in from other countries. Japan is recovering from the Tsunami and maybe can't send much help to repair Japanese industries, etc...

Safeguards against this happening again will have to be in the works, or in place. Maybe permanent dykes surrounding the industrial areas that can be entered by bridges, or elevated roadways. These industries, companies, and manufacturers will be looking for guarantees that this will never happen again, "in Thailand".

[AlanL1275]

Watershed management will require a lot of improvements, or be created. (planning, anticipation of rainy season waters, and upgrades) To protect all of Thailand in the future.

[puipuitom]

It is apparent that CM Kittiratt, has never worked in a factory.

Sorry, but did you ever met a politician , not only in TH, with reality sense ?

Or being honest to their voters ? ?

Here in North-west Europe we built dikes the last thousand years. In Thailand… nothing.

After factories are cleaned, all has to start up.

For food factories an additional problem occurs: the water was NOT clean rain water, but mixed with sewer trash. For sure every factory has to prove again they are micro-biological clean too. This will last a 2-3 months at least. And YOU think, retail organizations “in the West” will wait so long with empty shop shelves, or .. will use the space for OR the same products from other origins OR complete other products ?

As food buyer for over 33 years: Many will switch away, and Thailand will feel the results of that for many years.

So.. up to next elections in TH and all looking forward to their election money of 20-50 baht.

[falangjim]

Who is this idiot Kittirat? Does he actually think people are listening to the smoke he's trying to blow up people's asses? Unbelievable comments from a nit-wit politician. More Thai BS for the masses to reject.

Just in the last month I've read ridiculous statements from Thai politicians, yet the complete opposite of what they say is true.

Someone should put together a montage of flood scenes, you know...the ones where people are trapped on the roofs of their houses, crying for food and water, crying because they've lost it all crying because the water came so fast and without warning they panicked. Then play these sound bytes from the government:

"The floods won't affect Bangkok."

"The floods won't affect tourism."

"The floods won't affect industry."

"We won't open the dams around Bangkok."

"We're going to open the dams around Bangkok."

"Plan for 6 weeks of flood waters, but don't panic and buy up all the food."

Can't this government do ANYTHING right? Yingluck, you emotional boob. You novice. You joke of a PM. You muppet.

[hammered]

Reality is that it is in everyones interest to get things up and runnign asap in the estates after the waters recede. Dunno if the ministers numbers are correct but it will happen as soon as people can make it happen