Thai govt's Bt350-bn water project: Forums 'will be done in three months'

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BT350-BN WATER PROJECT
Forums 'will be done in three months'
The Nation

Plodprasop insists scheme must go ahead no matter who is in power

BANGKOK: -- After appointing a 20-strong sub-panel to oversee public forums for the Bt350-billion water-management scheme on Thursday, Deputy PM Plodprasop Suraswadi said yesterday that forums covering the 39 affected provinces should begin by mid-August and take three months to complete.

Plodprasop also said the flood-prevention project would proceed no matter who manages the country because too much damage would be incurred if it wasn't undertaken.

Meanwhile, Deputy PM Phongthep Thepkanjana said the attorney-general had yet to decide if an appeal would be filed against a court ruling on the scheme even though the July 27 deadline is nearing. He said he also spoke to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning yesterday about methods to be used for environmental impact assessment.

A Government House source said the sub-panel, led by deputy permanent secretary to the PM's Office Kamol Suksomboon, allowed one seat to the Anti-Corruption Network, but there were no representatives from the people's sector.

In the appointment letter, the sub-panel's tasks were listed as:

_ Formulating plans for public relations and gathering of public opinion;

_ Organising exhibitions and publications;

_ Selecting venues and methods as well as involved agencies;

_ Gathering and processing public opinion to put to the Office of the National Water and Flood-Management Policy (NWFMP);

_ Assigning working teams as appropriate; and

_ Performing other assignments.

The appointment letter also says the sub-panel can get technical support from companies that have won bids for projects in the scheme.

Plodprasop said after the four winning bidders got Cabinet approval, they revealed details about the affected areas, so the public forums should have a wider coverage.

He said public forums, funded by the government and hosted by the Interior Ministry and the NWFMP, would include people both for and against the mega-project, as well as those directly and indirectly affected. NGOs would also be included.

He went on to say that the mega-project would prevent Bangkok from getting flooded because it would keep the volume of water passing through the city at under 3,500 million cubic metres, and hence, no water-management budget was needed.

He also dismissed rumours that Chat Thai Pattana Party was unhappy about Plodprasop's comment that the Agriculture Ministry was not cooperating with the water-management policy, saying relations between coalition parties was good and that the news was untrue.

In related news, Italian-Thai Development-PowerChina Joint Venture project manager Sakulchai Phattarakampol said the company was still waiting to hear from the NWFMP, as the contract has not been signed yet. He said this was possibly because they need to come up with terms of reference (ToR) to hire engineering advisers to help with the public forum. He also voiced concern that if the modules were delayed for another couple of years, a change in the cost of materials may hurt them.

Monthon Panupokin, managing director of K-Water Thailand, said his company was still waiting for a NWFMP order and was ready to provide information support. He expressed concerns on some groups, saying faulty information affected people's confidence in the company, so it was proceeding with legal action and would host a press conference on progress later on.

Meanwhile, Senator Weerawit Kongsak, representing the Senate Standing Committee on Corruption Investigation and Good Governance Promotion, yesterday called on the Auditor-General to get the Administrative Court to cancel bids on the mega-scheme on grounds that standard prices had not been revealed publicly, as required by the charter.


-- The Nation 2013-07-13

[NongKhaiKid]

What's the point of wasting money on this too as a positive result is almost a foregone conclusion.

How can these forums operate in red areas as no dissenting voices will be allowed near them ? In any case in every area the forum members, speakers etc will be carefully vetted.

[theblether]

Three months, why does it always have to be three months.

[billd766]

And after the 3 months is up whether the forms are finished or not, for or against the project it WILL start and the money WILL be paid out.

Democracy PTP style.

[Baerboxer]

And after the 3 months is up whether the forms are finished or not, for or against the project it WILL start and the money WILL be paid out.

Democracy PTP style.

The 4 winning bidders got cabinet approval. How wonderfully transparent and open the bidding process must have been. Wonder if the results of the bids and supplier selection criteria will be made available at these forums too. K-Water even went to the trouble of taking advice from a former Thai PM an PhD. Wonder if that helped secure their bid?