DEPUTY Agriculture Minister Prawat
Uttamote said yesterday that if
the National Environmental
Board gives the nod to the construction of the
Kaeng Sua Ten dam, the Forest
Industry Organisation (FIO) will be
given the sole logging rights
to the area.
The FIO has accumulated losses
of up to Bt400 million, and the
Agriculture Ministry has been
trying to find a way to reduce its
losses. One measure considered
by the previous government was to sell
a plot of land belonging to the
FIO to the National Housing Authority.
Prawat said that he objects to
the idea and has other alternatives,
such as giving the FIO the logging
rights to the area where the Kaeng
Sua Ten dam may be built, promoting
areas under its jurisdiction as
national tourist attractions
or operating a paper-and-pulp business.
He said that the FIO will have
plenty of raw material for a
paper-and-pulp business because
it owns many eucalyptus plantations.
Prawat said the FIO had earlier
conducted a study that showed the
business was not worth the investment,
but he noted that the private
sector has been successful in
such ventures.
He said that Narong Sugree, director
of the FIO, had proposed
operating a logging business
in Laos, but the deputy minister said
the private sector had
advised against it because of the lack of a sound
financial system in that country.
The investment also might not
be worthwhile because of high
transportation costs, he added.