Downtown Pattani is flooded on Monday. ABDULLAH BENJAKAT
A government committee on Thursday approved four flood prevention projects in Bangkok and a water supply project in Pattani.
The projects were approved at a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, said Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) secretary-general Somkiat Prajamwong.
The first project will see a reinforced concrete dam built on Klong Bang Phai and Klong Phraya Ratchamontri in Nonthaburi, which is designed to retain 183,600 cubic metres of water and help drain excess water from the area.
The project, which will take four years to complete, will help prevent flood across a 14-square kilometre area, covering Phasi Charoen, Bang Khae, Nong Khaem and Thawi Watthana districts.
ONWR pushes drought mitigation plan
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BANGKOK (NNT) - ONWR chair DPM Gen Prawit Wongsuwan has ordered related agencies to solve the flooding disaster in the southern region and prepare a mitigation plan for the expected drought disaster this year, minimizing the impact on the general public.
The Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) Secretary General Somkiat Prajamwong has announced the outcome of a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, saying that the ONWR will be working to instigate short-term drought mitigation projects such as the construction of groundwater wells for a March-April completion, while developing a long-term plan to find good sources of ground water.
January 8, 2021 Share
China informed downstream Mekong river neighbors of a 20-day water restriction at its southernmost dam on the waterway six days after it started holding back water on Dec. 31, drawing a mix of credit for sharing data with downstream governments and criticism for not giving Thailand, Cambodia and others advance notice.
A statement issued Wednesday by the Mekong River Commission, an intergovernment agency that works with the governments of Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, to manage the 2,703-mile river’s resources, said that China promised that the river’s flow held back at the Jinghong Dam “will be gradually restored to its normal operation status on January 25.”
English By Radio Free Asia Share on Facebook Print this page
Laos is preparing to build what will be its seventh of nine planned large-scale Mekong river mainstream dams, the latest project in its controversial economic strategy to become the “battery of Southeast Asia,” sources in the country told RFA.
The 728-megawatt Phou Ngoy Dam, with a projected completion date of 2029, would join the currently operational Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams as well as the Pak Beng, Pak Lay, Luang Prabang and Sanakham dams, in various stages of planning. Two others, Pak Chom and Ban Koum, are on the horizon after that.