Barkar Nash (Page 52)

Chiang Rai is now in its second phase of restoration after the recent floods, focusing mainly on strengthening infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai announced.

According to the Office of Prime Minister’s spokesman Jirayu Houngsab, Mr Phumtham and a group of Interior Ministry officials on Monday attended a ceremony to hand over flood-recovered areas in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district from soldiers and members of related sectors who had been providing assistance to locals.

In his opening speech, Mr Phumtham highlighted Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra’s concerns about flood-affected families and communities.

He said she had ordered the authorities to speed up restoration efforts so people could return to everyday life as soon as possible.

Following Ms Paethongtarn’s instruction, he said a frontal operations centre chaired by Deputy Interior Minister Theerarat Samrejvanich was set up to help maximise the government’s relief efforts.

As of now, the centre’s restoration effort has helped at least 800 families and completely cleared away mud from public areas.

Shop owners have begun to return to their jobs, and businesses have returned to normal, Mr Phumtham said.

He added that the restoration effort has now entered its second phase, which focuses on strengthening infrastructure to reduce the negative impacts of natural disasters while building the confidence of potential tourists looking to visit the province.

Restored areas are transferred to the Chiang Rai Interior Office so officials can begin the next phase, he noted.

According to acting provincial governor, Chotnarin Koedsom, 14 districts, covering at least 66 sub-districts, were reportedly affected by 40 days of inundation.

Of those, the most severe were in Muang and Mae Sai districts, with some areas being impacted by landslides.

Mr Chotnarin credited the cooperation between the government’s operations centre and at least 135 agencies, 1,724 taskforces and 8,826 officers, for the “success” of the first phase of restoration.

The government has set an ambitious target of handling a million flights nationwide next year following the opening of Suvarnabhumi airport’s third runway earlier this month, Deputy Transport Minister Manaporn Charoensri said.

This is part of the government’s aim to make Thailand the region’s aviation hub and boost tourism and the economy, Ms Manaporn said following the opening of Suvarnabhumi airport’s third runway on Oct 3.

On Monday Ms Manaporn said that in the 2024 fiscal year, flights nationwide totalled 836,513, a 16% increase from last year.

Suvarnabhumi airport, which is Thailand’s main international gateway, handled 348,980 flights, or an average of 950 flights per day, closely approaching pre-pandemic volumes with continued growth expected, she said.

“The goal for the 2025 fiscal year is to accommodate one million flights at the airport,” she said.

Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai) has emphasised its readiness to ensure the new runway’s total operational capacity, allowing Thailand to accommodate an increased volume of flights. Aerothai president Nopasit Chakpitak said the state enterprise’s preparations for the opening of the new runway started over five years ago with the development of an operational concept, environmental impact assessments, air traffic control (ATC) procedures, ATC staff training, and the installation of air navigation systems.

Additionally, Mr Nopasit said Aerothai prepared air traffic management systems, instrument flight procedure designs, safety risk assessments, and standard operations manual.

He said introducing the third runway has increased Suvarnabhumi’s capacity from 68 to 94 flights per hour.

The simultaneous parallel operation of takeoffs and landings has streamlined air traffic flow and optimised runway usage to minimise taxi distances and times, he added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said the government is ready to support the effort to boost farmers’ access to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, to improve the management of the nation’s agricultural land.

Mr Prasert made the pledge at a Senate meeting on Monday, where he was asked by Senator Premsak Piayura about the government’s plans to promote the use of drones to improve disaster mitigation and emergency response, and the nation’s logistics and agricultural industries.

The minister said the government recognises the value of UAVs, calling it a powerful tool in dealing with natural disasters and managing the nation’s arable lands.

He said over 500 drones watch over four million rai of land across the country, providing the government with crucial information for various needs, including emergency response and weather forecasting.

The minister said the government will continue to support Thai drone manufacturers, saying relying on domestically developed drones and applications will help ensure the nation’s security.

The ministry has also come up with standard pricing and minimum quality specifications for drones used by official government agencies, set up drone repair centres and opened drone flying sessions in areas where agricultural drones are operated.

Though no central funding has been allocated to local agencies to buy drones, Mr Prasert said that agencies can set their own budgets.

Senator Premsak stressed the need for changes to the current rules to allow the public to legally possess and use drones.

Mr Prasert acknowledged the concerns but insisted that permission is required to use drones.

However, he said he would review current regulations to streamline the permit process for farmers.

PP MPs seek to cut down number of referendums

Parliament will debate charter amendment bills when it convenes its next session in December, House Speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha confirmed on Monday.

The decision was made after government, opposition and Senate whips agreed to discuss bills which seek to revise parts of the 2017 constitution in the next parliamentary session, he said, saying there is simply not enough time to start a discussion in the current session, which will wrap up on Wednesday.

As such, they opted to hold the talks in the next session, which begins on Dec 15-16.

Mr Wan said the government could call a special parliamentary session if necessary. The House could also request one, if there are bills which require urgent deliberation, he added.

When asked about changes to Section 256 of the constitution, which paves the way for the establishment of a charter drafting body, Mr Wan said the changes must be decided by a referendum before they can proceed.

Separately, People’s Party list MP Parit Wacharasindhu said on Monday the number of referendums on the charter should be lowered from three to two, to minimise the risk of further delays.

His remarks came as the House and Senate locked horns over the size of the majority needed to pass a referendum on the constitution.

The House stands by its position that a simple majority is sufficient, but the Senate, which is taking a harder line, insists on two conditions: that over 50% of voters must participate in the referendum, and the majority of those who take part must support it.

A joint committee was formed to settle the issue, in the hope that the referendum could proceed in February next year as planned.

Mr Parit said to ensure the charter rewrite process would not be delayed further, the referendum should be done in two rounds, noting it will still be in compliance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

The court ruled the public must approve any move by parliament to amend the entire charter, and if that first referendum approves the push to amend the charter, another one must be held to see if the public approves of the changes.

Under the government’s current plan, a referendum will be held to ask voters if they agree with the push to write a new charter. If the majority of voters agree, a second will be held to ask the public if Section 256 should be amended to allow for the drafting of a new charter.

Once a new constitution has been produced, the government will hold a third vote to ask voters whether or not the changes should be adopted.

An automated biometric identification system using facial recognition technology will be implemented in six Thai airports later this year to let passengers show their physical ID only once.

The system will be ready for domestic passengers on Nov 1 and for international passengers on Dec 1, according to operated by the Airport Authority of Thailand director Kirati Kitmanawat.

To use the system, passengers will be required to allow access to their identification information when checking in at the counter or self-service check-in at the airports.

The system will collect passengers’ biometric information and travel itineraries electronically, allowing air travellers to go from the baggage drop to the boarding gate without showing passports and boarding passes. Each registration is for only one journey.

The six airports that will use the system are Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Don Mueang International Airport, Chiang Mai International Airport, Mae Fah Luang/Chiang Rai International Airport, Phuket International Airport and Hat Yai International Airport.

Passenger numbers using the airports in September and October have risen almost 20% from the same period last year, and are expected to be still higher next year, Mr Kirati said.