THAILAND: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reassures foreign diplomats and investors on the government's water management plan

Record ID: 863028

  • Title: THAILAND: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reassures foreign diplomats and investors on the government's water management plan
  • Date: 31st August 2012
  • Summary: PATHUM THANI, THAILAND (FILE - AUGUST 10, 2012) (REUTERS) YINGLUCK WALKING IN NAVA NAKORN INDUSTRIAL ESTATE YINGLUCK INSPECTING FLOODWALL CONSTRUCTION SOIL AND CONCRETE FLOODWALL FOREIGN INVESTORS SITTING WATER LEVEL INCREASE TO TEST PREVENTION WALL FOREIGNERS LOOKING WATER MEASUREMENT PATHUM THANI, THAILAND (FILE - 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AERIAL SHOT OF HOUSES FLOODED VARIOUS OF HOUSES, CAR SUBMERGED IN FLOOD WATER
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • City:
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABO9HRVGFKPVZZFURASI19V7DW
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra reassured foreign diplomats and investors of the government's water management plan on Friday (August 31).
    At the opening of Thailand's water management exhibition, attended by foreign diplomats and investors, Yingluck explained the government's plans to tackle floods.

    "To prepare for an upcoming rainy season, the government has implemented a new water management and flood prevention system. We'll focus on four areas namely protection, preparation, response and recovery," said Yingluck.
    The three-day exhibition presents the government's long and short term strategies in flood prevention.
    After the floods last year, the government set aside 300 billion baht (9.5 billion US dollars) to build water-management and flood-prevention infrastructure.
    That includes dams and dykes in low-lying parts of the central region aimed at preventing industrial zones from being flooded.
    The government has also prepared approximately 192,000 hectares of land to catch any water spilling down from the north and prevent Bangkok and its industrial areas from becoming inundated again.
    Earlier in August, Yingluck attended a test of a floodwall in Pathum Thani province, in Nava Nakorn industrial estates, on the outskirts of Bangkok.
    The 20.6 kilometres long floodwall's strength was tested by increasing water pressure against it, by using the propeller from a Navy ship. The floodwall surrounds more than 200 factories in Nava Nakorn.
    The same concrete floodwalls are being built in several industrial estates in central region as well.
    Last year, Thailand was hit by the country's worst flooding in five decades which killed some 676 people and shut down seven industrial estates. The total economic loss was 1.42 trillion baht (44.83 billion US dollars).
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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