The Nation
May 4, 2001

The Senate Committee on the Environment recommended yesterday that the government suspend the construction a wastewater treatment plant in Samut Prakan due to the potential for adverse social and environmental impacts.

The Senate Committee on the Environment recommended yesterday that the government suspend the construction of two controversial projects – a coal fired power plant in Prachuab Khiri Khan and a wastewater treatment plant in Samut Prakan – due to the adverse impacts they would likely have on the environment and on local communities.

The 1,400 megawatt power plant at Hin Krut is being developed by Union Power Development Co Ltd, one of seven independent power producers (IPPs) approved by the government.

The US$1.2 billion (Bt54.6 billion) project has been delayed for years by protests from the surrounding community, which fears the use of coal as the fuel for power generation will have a dire environmental impact. Construction was originally expected to start in early 1998. Committee chairman Panat Tassaniyanon (Tak) said changing circumstances have invalidated the justification for the two projects.

Local and foreign investors backed the power plant to support the government’s plan to develop the western coastal provinces into the country’s steel belt. However, the economic crisis has made the project irrelevant and left the country with more than 40 per cent in reserve power.

The committee saw Prachuab Khiri Khan as having potential for sustainable development in ecotourism, fishing and smallscale agriculture.

The committee also suggested that the government consider other sources of power generation, such as biomass, that do not create pollution problems.

The government should postpone the construction of the wastewater treatment plant in Samut Prakan, otherwise confrontations between the contractors and local residents could escalate into violence.

The committee said the government should enforce the Factory Act of 1992 to make every plant build its own wastewater treatment system and switch to small and mediumscale wastewater treatment plants that would not affect the livelihoods of the people in the maritime province.