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Megaprojects 'a top priority' for new govt :
Big plans for diversion of water from Mekong


ANUCHA CHAROENPO

Source: Bangkok Post, 4 Feb 08

The incoming government will make megaprojects worth at least 500 billion baht its top priority soon after the new cabinet members take office, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said yesterday.

The projects include an ambitious plan to build an underground pipeline to divert water from the Mekong river to the northeastern region and the extension of the skytrain by more than 100 kilometres to reach the outer suburbs of Bangkok.

The newly-appointed prime minister said the ambitious water project aimed at helping farmers in the Northeast, the country's poorest region, would probably not be completed under his government's four-year term due to the scale of it. But it was a good start and future governments should continue it, he said.

He said the project had received the full backing of northeastern MPs.
Under the plan water from the Mekong, which runs about 700 kilometres from Chiang Rai to Ubon Ratchathani along Thailand's northern border, will be diverted through underground tunnels to Loei and Udon Thani, where reservoirs will act as distribution centres to send the water on to farms in other provinces during the dry season. The water will be transported through small pipelines.

Mr Samak said the project was realistic, given what Israel had done by turning its arid areas into fertile farmland, and vowed to make it possible even though he could possibly face criticism from environmentalists.

''I am not too ambitious. State agencies involved, especially the Royal Irrigation Department, must seriously help us undertake it,'' he said.

''Were I not prime minister, I would not have an opportunity to push for this project,'' he added.
He said he did not care about opposition from non-governmental organisations.
Past governments tried to divert water from the Mekong but faced strong opposition from other countries sharing the river. The Mekong starts in China and flows through Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Water use for the lower basin, comprising Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is regulated by the Mekong River Commission.

The People Power party leader also pledged to complete the extension of Bangkok's skytrain system within three years. He said the present network was not extensive enough to serve commuters across Bangkok and its nearby areas.

The planned extended lines will start from Mor Chit station to Lam Luk Ka district in Pathum Thani, and from the Taksin bridge station to the Om Noi area in Samut Sakhon.

Other mass transportation development projects include the planned construction of nine more train lines and a plan to expand dual railway tracks from 3,700 to 7,400 kilometres.

The prime minister also said he was confident he could handle all the megaprojects as he had taken on several administration-related jobs with the transport system.

Mr Samak's plans for the skytrain could put him at loggerheads with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), which owns the project. The present two routes from Taksin bridge to the National Stadium and from Onnuj to Mor Chit are operated by Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc under a 30-year concession which started in December 1999.

 
 

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