280km, $5 Billion BKK 3rd Ring Road & canal project?

[Yappofloyd]

If this project evers gets approval then one would expect the eventual cost to increase greatly from the current estimate of 150 billion baht! I guess that possibility virtually guarantees that it will get the green light.....

280km Bangkok ring road planned, 21/09/2011 Bkk Post
The Transport Ministry is setting up plans for a multi-billion-baht third ring road for Bangkok and surrounding provinces, which will feature a canal in lieu of a traffic island to alleviate flooding.

Transport permanent secretary Supoj Saplom yesterday unveiled the six-lane, 280-kilometre-long ring road project that will cost an estimated 150 billion baht. It will pass through Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Prakan and Bangkok.

The ministry will require 100 billion baht for land expropriation and road construction and 50 billion baht to build the canal, measuring about 200 metres wide and five to eight metres deep, Mr Supoj said. The canal will absorb excess water from the Chao Phraya and Tha Chin rivers during heavy rain to alleviate flooding in provinces around Bangkok.

Mr Supoj said if the 150-billion-baht cost was considered too high, he could order the agency to cut unnecessary parts of the project to reduce the price tag. He cited a planned elevated section about 60 kilometres long south of Bangkok that might be unnecessary. Excluding that elevated portion could reduce the cost by about 6 billion baht. The Transport Ministry will propose a detailed version of the project to the government in two months.

Mr Supoj also ordered the Highways Department to adjust its inter-city motorway projects to improve their contribution to logistics and water management. He referred to five inter-city motorway projects with a combined distance of 707 kilometres and a combined cost of about 150 billion baht. They will stretch from Bang Pa-in via Saraburi to Nakhon Ratchasima, from Bang Yai via Nakhon Pathom to Kanchanaburi, from Pattaya to Map Ta Phut, from Nakhon Pathom via Samut Songkhram to Cha-am, and from Bang Pa-in to Nakhon Sawan.

[Yappofloyd]

Experts urge 'super waterway': Outline new strategy to drain future runoff, 15/11/2011
A team of disaster experts from Chulalongkorn University says the construction of an express floodway is needed if certain areas of the country are to avoid future flood disasters. The team, led by Thanawat Jarupongsakul, a lecturer at the faculty of science's Unit for Disaster and Land Information Studies has proposed 11 flood preventive measures to permanently deal with flood disasters. "One of the urgent solutions is a super-express floodway," he said.

The floodway will link existing natural canals to drain runoff, starting from the 134km Chai Nat-Pasak canal stretching from Manorom district of Chai Nat to Tha Rua district of Ayutthaya, the 32km Rapeepat canal from Ha Rua district of Ayutthaya to Rangsit of Pathum Thani and the 30km Phra Ong Chaiyanuchit canal from Rangsit to the sea in Samut Prakan. The total length of the super-express floodway would be about 200km. It would hold about 1.6 billion cubic metres of water and drain runoff at a rate of 6,000 cu/m per second.

Mr Thanawat said there should be 1km of empty land and two motorways (inbound and outbound) 6m above ground level along both sides of the floodway. He said this would prevent communities or properties next to the floodway from being inundated. He said details such as the width and depth of canals needed to be further investigated. "This idea is much cheaper than digging a new river as a floodway," Mr Thanawat said.

He said in the past, there were several natural swamps, mostly in the west of the Central Plains, which had been turned into industrial estates and communities, so the natural floodway was blocked, resulting in areas being flooded. To ease the flood problem, the super-express floodway should be built to directly drain the runoff into the sea. This measure had helped to drain the water from upstream at the Chai Nat-Pasak canal. "Of course, it will also have a bad effect as the areas along the canals have to be expropriated, but appropriate compensation must be provided to the affected residents," he said.

Other measures should include an early disaster warning system, water resource management as a whole, flood tax, use of a flood-risk map for urban development, public participation in disaster management, groundwater use control, farming periods in accordance with climate variability and establishment of a disaster organisation. Mr Thanawat said a direct flood tax must be collected from provinces or areas which are located in flood prevention systems, and an indirect flood tax should be collected from the owners of properties under the protection of flood prevention systems.

The figure will be used to compensate those affected by the deluge and to help preserve natural floodways. "Now, the government must stop [trying to] solve flood problems with political methods and turn its attention instead to these 11 measures, especially the super-express floodway," Mr Thanawat said. "This year's severe flooding was not from an excessive amount of rainfall, but [was due to] mistakes in the government's water management."

He said it should be realised the giant tunnels of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration can drain floodwater only in the city, not a massive volume of upstream runoff. "If there is no step forward, foreign investors will eventually disappear from the country and the next generation will be still worried whether flooding will happen or not," he said.

Proposal for 200km floodway by WANNAPA KHAOPA, THE NATION November 15, 2011
Chulalongkorn University yesterday unveiled an ambitious super-express floodway model and 10 other measures to prevent flooding from devastating the Central region. "If the government decides to use this plan and it passes an environmental impact assessment, construction is expected to be completed within three years," said Professor Thanawat Jarupongsakul, a lecturer at the Science Faculty's Unit for Disaster and Land Information Studies.



The main floodway would stretch for more than 200 kilometres from the Chai Nat-Pasak Canal in Chai Nat to Klong Dan in Samut Prakan, Thanawat told a press conference. The floodway would have one-kilometre-wide buffers along each side and a bi-directional motorway six metres in height to prevent water from overflowing. The buffers will be used to grow crops or house recreational parks before the rainy season comes, while the motorway will help with logistics.

Among the 11 proposed measures, particular attention was paid to collecting a direct flood tax from the owners of permanent structures located on natural floodways or in water-retention areas. The tax rate for buildings in the zones, for example, would be 20 or 30 times higher than the rate elsewhere. The difference would be kept for future use as compensation for flood victims. Also, the rapid expansion of urban areas in Bangkok's neighbouring provinces should be halted, otherwise more people will be affected by floods, Thanawat said.

According to the plan, satellite towns should be developed in Ratchaburi, Saraburi, Chachoengsao and Suphan Buri, with express trains linking them to Bangkok. "Early disaster warning systems should also be improved so that people in the highest-risk areas can prepare for evacuation. This won't cause panic," he said, adding that flood-risk maps should be an essential element of city planning. "In the past, we've only used white papers, and policymakers have decided where to build roads."

The government should control the use of groundwater in agricultural areas to prevent subsidence and should encourage farmers to raise plants or crops that can withstand extreme weather conditions, Thanawat said. Natural "monkey-cheek" reservoirs that can hold floodwaters should be preserved in accordance with people's way of life in nearby communities, he said. Laws should be amended to support disaster management and promote public participation, and an agency should be set up to battle disasters using hi-tech equipment based on research, according to the plan. "I hope the government will consider our suggested measures and decide to put them in place soon. No one wants to experience any more disasters," he said.

[Yappofloyd]

Flood prevention measures to help fuel 7% growth, says Kittiratt, Bkk Post 8/01/2012
Economic growth of 7% has been predicted this year by Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong as a consequence of a series of economic stimulus schemes, including the launch of new infrastructure development. Mr Kittiratt noted growth is likely to be steady from planned infrastructure investment to prevent floods and droughts.

Once the 2012 budget is endorsed by parliament, at least 29 billion baht would be allocated for the repair and restoration of damaged sluice gates and embankments, he said. Mr Kittiratt, who chairs the Strategic Formulation Committee for Water Resources Management (SCWRM), and Virabongsa Ramangkura, chair of the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development (SCRF) were confident proposed investments of 350 billion baht in water management projects would shore up investor confidence badly hurt by last year's flooding,

Mr Virabongsa and Mr Kittiratt appeared in Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's weekly programme yesterday. The premier handed over her broadcast time slot to them so they could clarify the 350 billion baht worth of investments in water management projects approved by the SCRF. Plans are expected to be submitted to cabinet this week. Mr Virabongsa said foreign investors were concerned about a recurrence of the flooding and wanted a commitment to a flood prevention system. He said the flood issue can be handled and the SCRF would see to it that an eight-point water management guideline by SCWRM is put to use.

Mr Kittiratt said yesterday a law would be enacted to raise the 350 billion baht needed to fund the water management investment projects. About 300 billion baht will be diverted to projects in the Chao Phraya River basin. Another 40 billion baht will be devoted to projects in 17 other river basins across the country, while the other 10 billion baht will be left to the SCRF's discretion. The investment scheme is expected to be completed within three years.

[Yappofloyd]

Unclear exactly what will happen given various proposals but a new ring or by-pass road with a large adjacent drainage canal appears highly likely to be built. Civil engineering companies must be rubbing their hands with glee with all the construction work being proposed.

Highway, industrial zone proposed. Floodways, ring road also seen as solutions, BKK Post, 30/01/2012
Experts are proposing a new highway linking Ratchaburi and Kamphaeng Phet provinces, western and eastern floodways, a new economic zone and an outer ring road for eastern Bangkok as solutions to flooding problems.

The Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development (SCRF), chaired by Virabongsa Ramangkura, plans to seek a new economic zone for relocation of some factories. Chulit Wacharasin, an executive of Panya Consultants Co _ the company that earlier proposed digging up Bang Na-Trat Road to drain water _ proposed a plan to build floodways to drain water, a new highway and an outer ring road. All in all, the drainage capacity under the plan is 4,500 cubic metres a second. A highway with side canals between Ratchaburi and Kamphaeng Phet is the best alternative, but the company has yet to estimate construction costs.

The western floodway from Nakhon Sawan to the Mae Klong River would have a draining capacity of 1,000 cubic metres per second. Improvements to the Chainat-Pasak canal would feature an eastern floodway with drainage capacity of 1,000 cubic metres a second, at an estimated cost of 50 billion baht. An outer eastern ring road with floodway alongside would drain 500 cubic metres a second and cost 50 billion baht. The road would pass Bang Pa-in in Ayutthaya, Lam Luk Ka in Pathum Thani, Nong Chok in Bangkok and Bang Phli in Samut Prakan.

Those projects must coincide with improvements in town planning, land utilisation and road obstruction. Other essentials include an early-warning system and a limit on rice cultivation to twice a year. What the plan does not need is politics. Mr Chulit views the government's existing plan as top-down and lacking input from communities. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board and secretary of the SCRF, said the committee was considering a new economic zone for industrial areas.

A study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency found that 70% of Japanese investors favour existing locations while 30% want to move to other locations in Thailand. Mr Arkhom said the new zone should be located along the east-west corridor (Myanmar-Thailand-Laos-Vietnam) or the south-south corridor (Myanmar-Thailand-Cambodia). For that reason, Nakhon Ratchasima looks promising. The location must also create linkage of existing industrial areas with neighbouring countries. The government needs to invest in infrastructure and logistics while the Board of Investment considers privileges for new investments.