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

Monday February 04, 2008
Megaprojects 'a top priority' for new govt
Big plans for diversion of water from Mekong

ANUCHA CHAROENPO


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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