The Pheu Thai Party has opposed the planned implementation of a project to build a 135km-long flood canal from the Pasak River in the Central Plains to the Gulf of Thailand.
Plodprasop Suraswadi, head of the party’s water management infrastructure reform, said the planned project should not be given the go-ahead because it will be costly to build at an estimated 100 billion baht.
The project has not been studied thoroughly, he said, adding that the current caretaker government should let the next administration decide its fate.
The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) on Monday said it would press ahead with the project, which would help drain floodwater faster across the Central Plains basin during the rainy season and mitigate water shortages in the dry season.
The canal links tambon Roeng Rang in Saraburi’s Sao Hai district with tambon Song Khlong in Chachoengsao’s Bang Pakong district. It will pass through 38 tambons and 11 districts in Saraburi, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Nayok, Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao.
RID said the canal would help boost the area’s drainage capacity to 600 cubic metres per second (m³/s), reducing flooding from runoff from the Pasak and Chao Phraya rivers and nearby canals.
According to Mr Plodprasop, the project has failed to include a study on a possible negative impact on areas along the route. To divert flood waters into the eastern part of the country with important economic zones, including Suvarnabhumi airport, and highly populated areas without a proper study poses serious concerns, he said.
“This project is a mistake from a design and planning point of view,” he said.