Bangkok Post
May 12, 2005

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat shocked villagers opposed to the corruption-ridden Klong Dan wastewater treatment project in Samut Prakan province by announcing the stalled project will go ahead.

Mr Yongyuth said finishing the project, which could cost up to 700 million baht, would not be a burden on taxpayers. “The government will not pay a single baht to restart the project, but will ask private firms to shoulder the cost of completing it in exchange for receiving treated water for free,” Mr Yongyuth said after meetings with the Wastewater Management Authority and Pollution Control Department.

Mr Yongyuth admitted he made the decision without considering a Pollution Control Department study into project alternatives, saying he wanted the 23-billion-baht project to be operating as soon as possible.

The 65-million-baht study was completed last month and is to be submitted to the minister next week. It suggests a number of options for the project.

The study concludes modifying the project is the most reasonable solution, but an additional 5.6 billion baht is required to complete the unfinished work and upgrade the water treatment technology.

The project, about 95% complete, stopped two years ago after seven years of fierce local opposition and reports of irregularities in land acquisition and construction contracts.

Dawan Chantarahassadi, a protest leader, called Mr Yongyuth’s decision “a big mistake.”

“Wastewater treatment engineers and specialists joining the department’s study have confirmed our view that the project is badly constructed and would cause grave environmental damage,” she said.

Mrs Dawan urged Mr Yongyuth to re-think the decision he made without consulting experts or local people.

“What the government needs to do is not try to revive the project, but speed up the investigation and bring the culprits, including senior government officials and politicians, to justice,” she said.

Senior pollution control officials also expressed surprise. “We did not expect the minister would come up with such a decision,” said department chief Apichai Chvajarernpun. Mr Apichai said Mr Yongyuth’s idea to seek private investors and sell water to factory operators needed further consultation with concerned agencies as well as local administration authorities.

The minister, meanwhile, said a fresh probe would be launched against government officials involved in the project design process.