Tangle Gate: Bill Gates blast spurs B51 billion cleanup in Bangkok, but no action in Phuket

[rooster59]

Tangle Gate: Bill Gates blast spurs B51 billion cleanup in Bangkok, but no action in Phuket

Tanyaluk Sakoot

Opposition to the cable cleanup project in Patong may defer the push to tidy up Phuket's key tourism town until next year. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

PHUKET: Officials will spend more than B51 billion on burying power cables in Bangkok in response to Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates sledging Thailand for its ugly cable tangles along the streets – but Phuket will not get any special funding to remove one of the best known eyesores throughout the country.

The philanthropist posted an image of a tangle of wires hanging from a power pole on his blog GatesNotes and wrote: “Due to faulty infrastructure, many urban areas suffer from frequent blackouts and power cuts, and the electrical grid often doesn’t serve the people who need it most.

“I’ve visited many cities filled with tangled wires such as those in this photo from Thailand, where people have illegally tapped into the grid on their own to get the power they need – at great personal risk.”

Blowback across the internet quickly pointed out that the cable tangle in the photo posted by Mr Gates was a jumble of telecommunication wires, not actual power cables, but officials in Bangkok took the point to heart and by Tuesday (July 5) had announced a B51.7 billion project to bury 147 kilometres of power cables throughout the capital over the next five years.

Yet Phuket will not see one baht from Bangkok to achieve the same.

“We will not get any part of those funds,” Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongthada told The Phuket News this week.

“We are trying to organise all utilities cables to make the streets look better, but I have yet to receive any official notice that Phuket will receive any budget to tackle this problem,” he added.

“We have just finished one project to bury cables underground in Phuket Town involving the Phuket and the local municipality. Next, we will do the same in Patong soon,” he said.

Suthep Jitseree, Manager of PEA office in Phuket Town, explained, “We are not getting extra funds because we are the PEA, and the decision to spend that money to bury cables in Bangkok was made by the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA).

“However, the project to bury cables along Thalang Rd is finished, and we are still installing the cables underground along Yaowarat Rd, Dibuk Rd and Thepkrasattri Rd,” Mr Suthep said.

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/tangle-gate-bill-gates-blast-spurs-b51-billion-cleanup-in-bangkok-but-no-action-in-phuket-58192.php#ghxJqmCI7pJuAGTB.97

-- Phuket News 2016-07-09

[canopus1969]

Better tell Bill to get his a*se down to Phuket and complain

[trogers]

Electric lines in Bangkok are managed by MEA.

PEA handles the rest of the country. So, we can see who are proactive and who are inactive.

[cornishcarlos]

Electric lines in Bangkok are managed by MEA.

PEA handles the rest of the country. So, we can see who are proactive and who are inactive.

Or who has the budget and who doesn't !!

But really, no one is pro active, they are only rarely "re active"...

[lifeincnx]

Note to self: send friend Bill a few photos of Chiang Mai's corner communications hubs.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Now if we can just get some high profile people to start complaining about the state if the sidewalks here too. I would like to know how many twisted and broken ankles happen here on a daily basis because of the sorry state of the sidewalks? Open and broken sewer covers, broken tiles or loose tiles that splash your leg with nasty water from the vendors cleaning their dishes.

Why do they use those crappy little tiles anyway? Someone high up must have the contract to supply those useless tiles.

Would love to see that improved but won't be holding my breath.

[gchurch259]

Bill Gates should not have to tell the Thailand Officials they are not doing their job and Thailand has no Code Regarding such a waste of material and money. Thailand has never heard of "Line loss" of power or energy per additional meter or KM of wire and Transmission Cables ??

[NamKangMan]

If Bill was to visit Phuket and have a look around, he would probably start up "The Bill Gates Phuket Foundation."

[hansnl]

Bill Gates should not have to tell the Thailand Officials they are not doing their job and Thailand has no Code Regarding such a waste of material and money. Thailand has never heard of "Line loss" of power or energy per additional meter or KM of wire and Transmission Cables ??

Solly, no unnerstan!

[losworld]

How the hell is this costing 51 billion have they suddenly started paying the line guys 500k u.s. per year?

[elgordo38]

How the hell is this costing 51 billion have they suddenly started paying the line guys 500k u.s. per year?

Wink Wink do we really have to explain this in bahts and satang to you? Besides the money is being spent in Bangkok like all other funds its the first priority city in the country. Start first in Chiang Mai and then watch the elite howl. If Bangkok were to become a separate province they would have to triple the tax base to cover what they spend. We the rest of the country can only watch with envy.

[BlindMagician]

I predict screwed up engineering, copious secondary problems, corruption scandals, brushes and carpets, mai pen rai.

[kinmaew]

So they do listen to foreigners, well that is a first..

[sead]

How the hell is this costing 51 billion have they suddenly started paying the line guys 500k u.s. per year?

I have to ask if you live in Thailand? If you do, then 51 billion is not enough

[Pinot]

Electric lines in Bangkok are managed by MEA.

PEA handles the rest of the country. So, we can see who are proactive and who are inactive.

Or who has the budget and who doesn't !!

But really, no one is pro active, they are only rarely "re active"...

Thais never do anything till they have to...or it's too late.

[Happy Grumpy]

51 Billion, eh.

Wonder how much of that is the 'transportation budget' (new S Classes for the higher-ups to go and check the work)

Remember the new traffic lights in Pattaya that cost 4.5 million US dollars.

[Happy Grumpy]

I predict screwed up engineering, copious secondary problems, corruption scandals, brushes and carpets, mai pen rai.

I predict a very long, very thin, sink hole.

[gyrosman]

I don't believe it because I never saw a finger pointing.

[stevecm]

that's all.

[metisdead]

An off topic nonsense post has been removed.

[stevecm]

that's all.

[bearpolar]

it might be ugly but the less regulation = more expension

I think its better to get the whole country wired than having the kind of bullshit we have in the west where people in the sticks are still on 128kbps modems.

Here they lay FTTH super quickly and far by simply dumping wires on poles.

Once everyone has access to decent electricity and internet, they can work on hiding it.

[ericthai]

Just wait they bury all the cables and then when one of the workers need to do a repair the wires will just get pulled out of the ground so they can work on them and will not re-bury so the mess will go from a ugly mess on a pole to an ugly mess on the ground.

[Jonmarleesco]

In common with politicians the world over, they ignore the needs, wants and demands of those who elect them, but grovel before billionaires and businesses making their views widely known.

Perhaps Bill would care to draw attention to signs that mushroom from all sides of the pavements, holes and obstructions the length of the pavements, pieces of metal that stick out, at eye level, from numerous posts located along the pavements. Because it's damn certain that, unless there is a hefty boot stuck into it, the BMA won't get off its collective a__e to deal with these issues.

[Jonmarleesco]

it might be ugly but the less regulation = more expension

I think its better to get the whole country wired than having the kind of bullshit we have in the west where people in the sticks are still on 128kbps modems.

Here they lay FTTH super quickly and far by simply dumping wires on poles.

Once everyone has access to decent electricity and internet, they can work on hiding it.

Ignoring your simplistic viewpoint, you think they would work on hiding it?

[Lannig]

Glad this article eventually mentions that these were phone lines and fiber optics in the pictures, not power cables (not that it's less ugly, but less of a security concern).

Until now power lines were discussed to death in the other topics...

[Veritas48]

Typically the authorities only act on complaints from zillionaires.Let's ask Bill to comment on the road carnage!

[Psimbo]

Electric lines in Bangkok are managed by MEA.

PEA handles the rest of the country. So, we can see who are proactive and who are inactive.

But the PEA ARE being proactive, as seen by the projects in Phuket Town and the plans for Patong.

[nakhonandy]

it might be ugly but the less regulation = more expension

I think its better to get the whole country wired than having the kind of bullshit we have in the west where people in the sticks are still on 128kbps modems.

Here they lay FTTH super quickly and far by simply dumping wires on poles.

Once everyone has access to decent electricity and internet, they can work on hiding it.

Don't understand the first point at all.

Where in the west are people on 128kbps?

They lay it quickly but without thinking, the poles become overloaded, then everyone loses electricity and internet while they try to figure out what they installed in the first place. No drawings, no planning.

The first step of this project should be analysis of what is already in use. A lot of the cables are not even connected to anything as they do not remove unused stuff, just add the new.

After that remove the surplus rubbish.

Then start on the underground project, assuming the area is not prone to floods etc.

I believe this project is doomed from the start as none of the above will happen, it will be rushed and cause more problems.

[mike324]

prefer it to be overhead...who knows what might happens when a street gets flooded...given how bad sidewalk and road conditions are in Bangkok...can't imagine these underground tunnels for the cables will be maintained any better ,not to mention rats biting on these cables as well