A Cabinet resolution has okayed the building of ports in
Nakhon Si Thammarat's Khanom District and
Phang Nga's Thai Muang District and a land-bridge to connect
the two, government deputy spokesman
Amnart Chanawong announced.
''The port on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand will stretch
from Ban Bangtor to the gypsum company
while the other port on the Andaman Sea coast will be
located at Ban Tablamu," he said.
Construction of a port at Phang Nga's Ban Tablamu has been opposed by Kasem Snidvongs, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, because it is the last breeding ground for sea turtles on the Andaman coast.
The Cabinet also approved construction of a four-lane road
from Krabi to Khanom, even though the
Andaman port will now be built at Phang Nga instead of
Krabi. There was no official explanation as to
why the Cabinet chose to go ahead with the road project,
but sources said it was because the land
along the route had already been ''prepared". The road
will be 196 kilometres long and will pass
through six protected forest areas.
At the suggestion of the Democrat Party, and in particular,
Krabi MP Pichet Phanwichartkul, a
200-metre wide space will be cleared for the eventual
construction of a railway project and an oil and
natural gas pipeline.
Yesterday's Cabinet resolution also established a sub-committee,
to be chaired by the minister of
transport and communications, to oversee the development
of both the deep-sea ports and the
land-bridge linking Phang Nga and Khanom, Amnart said.
It was not clear how the road to Krabi will fit
into the land-bridge system.
Kasem suggested the site of the port be moved from Phang
Nga to Trang province to lessen the
environmental impact, but his suggestion was turned down
by the National Economic and Social
Development Board, which claimed that the Trang site would
not be economically viable as there would
be fewer opportunities to carry out development projects
along a road connecting Trang with Khanom.
Ecolas, a Belgian consulting company which studied the
project, said the Phang Nga site is the ''best
of bad alternatives".
However, environmentalists have questioned whether the
project is truly economically viable since it
remains unclear as to who will use the facilities. The
problems experienced by the Eastern Seaboard
project, including a lack of customers at the Laem Chabang
port, may be repeated, according to one
environmentalist.
Amnart said the resolution expands the responsibility and
authority of the Southern Seaboard
Development Committee to cover all policy, plans and administration
for the project.
''The resolution gave approval for the Petroleum Authority
of Thailand to join with the Industrial
Estates Authority of Thailand and the Southern Seaboard
Development Committee to work out a plan of
action for the refinery industry and industrial estate
development," Amnart added. The Southern
Seaboard Development Committee also announced the establishment
of four other sub-committees to look after port development, land development,
water supply work, and environmental impact management, he said.