Budget sought for river water diversion studies
Bangkok Post 1.2.08
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will seek more than a billion baht from the government to conduct feasibility studies on water diversion from the Mekong and Laos' Ngum river. Saksit Tridech, the ministry's permanent secretary, said the budget will cover feasibility studies and design of the water diversion projects aimed at feeding Thailand's water-starved Northeast.
Mr Saksit said he would ask Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who chairs a committee on water diversion schemes, to approve the budget.
The study will compare the two alternatives - diverting water from the Mekong and from Laos' Ngum river - to see which was more reasonable, he said.
''However, the decision will be based on the country's best interest,'' he said.
The budget proposal is the first concrete move since Mr Samak floated his plan to draw water from the Mekong river when he took office early last month.
The Ngum river diversion project has been proposed by the Water Resources Department as an alternative to the Mekong diversion.
The department's expert said the Ngum river has abundant water resources and the water diversion procedure is less complicated than the Mekong plan because it is not an international river. |
