Industrial estate owners, factories and power plants are instituting measures to reach the government's target of a 10% reduction in water use to deal with the ongoing drought crisis, though some operators say the measures may not be enough if the drought continues through the rainy season.
Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, chairman and group chief executive of WHA Corporation Plc, Thailand's biggest developer of industrial estates, said the company has spoken with factory operators at its estates about assistance and collaboration to save water.
And while WHA aims to reduce water usage at its industrial states by 10% at each factory, some factories require more water for operations than others.
"Some companies will help us with water saving in the drought crisis to reduce water consumption in their plants, but some will not because water is a necessary part of their operation," Ms Jareeporn said.
WHA has prepared measures to prevent water shortages at its industrial estates in Rayong, Chon Buri and Saraburi.
The company operates 10 industrial estates locally and plans to develop an 11th in Rayong this year and expand by four others by 2023, including WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 4, also in Rayong.
WHA has 800-900 factories operating in its industrial estates in Rayong and Chon Buri in industries such as automotive, smart electronics and logistics.
Ms Jareeporn said WHA has prepared a water reservoir to supply industrial estates in Rayong and Chanthaburi.
The group also has a water retreatment project that treats wastewater, reduces water loss and increases the capacity of wastewater by up to 15,000 cubic metres (CBM) per day from 10,000 CBM per day.
"WHA expects that it can supply water to its factories until September, so we have no worries about water shortage in industrial estates," Ms Jareeporn said.
Viboon Kromadit, chief executive of Amata Corporation Plc, said the company is closely monitoring the drought crisis for its customers in industrial estates.
Amata City Chon Buri and Amata City Rayong have about 1,200 factories in operation on their land.
"Amata has prepared a water supply for our customers, and the company is confident that Amata's industrial estates will not face water shortages," Mr Viboon said.
Earlier this year, the company had meetings with factory operators in Amata City in Chon Buri and Amata City in Rayong to update clients about the drought crisis and Amata's water management plan.
"Amata has confirmed the information about the water reservoir to serve our business, and we are confident that it still has enough water to supply the estates for at least 18 months," Mr Viboon said.
Amata also has a wastewater retreatment project to supply water to its factories.
DRY CEMENT
Roongrote Rangsiyopash, president and chief executive of Siam Cement Group (SCG), Thailand's largest cement maker and industrial conglomerate, said SCG plans to reduce water consumption by 12-13% this year.
"SCG is collaborating with the government to respond to the crisis, but we want to see the government's long-term plan on water management," he said.
In any event, SCG hopes there will be sufficient rainfall during the rainy season this year to solve the drought crisis.
SCG has factories in operation in many provinces nationwide, including a petrochemical plant in the industrial estate in Map Ta Phut and a cement plant in Saraburi.
SCG plans to shut down the Map Ta Phut olefins plant (MOC) in Rayong for major maintenance for 45 days in April and June.
"The MOC plant shutdown is in our plan for the summer, so it will not be affected by the drought crisis," Mr Roongrote said.
BEYOND RAINWATER
National oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc expects the drought season this year in the eastern seaboard to recur next year if the rain does not arrive during the normal period.
Chief executive and president Chansin Treenuchagron said PTT has adopted technology and measures to save water during production from upstream to downstream oil and gas.
The state-owned enterprise operates facilities, petrochemical complexes and power plants in Rayong's Map Ta Phut and Chon Buri's Sri Racha.
The group is evaluating the possibility that the drought may be a repeat of the one in 2005, a sentiment echoed by those in the eastern provinces.
The industrial sector, particularly olefins makers, has been forced to halve production in the face of the shortage.
Mr Chansin said PTT has tentatively proposed to the Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) that there should be investment in developing raw water from the ocean through reverse osmosis technology.
He said the business model may be a public-private participation model in order to make the business more flexible than the state-owned Provincial Waterworks Authority, which distributes tap water.
New investors will add to existing raw water suppliers like Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Plc.
"We've depended too much on natural rain to come for a long time, so it's time to have an alternative choice," Mr Chansin said.
Although reverse osmosis requires high production costs, policymakers may have an appropriate measure for investment privileges and water pricing to balance the higher costs and provide fair prices for buyers and sellers.
Mr Chansin said that in the past decade the government focused on basic infrastructure in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), like deep-sea ports, motorways, locomotive improvements, high-speed trains and power supplies, but the water supply became heavily dependent on the rainy season.
"A stable supply of water is also crucial in production facilities in the EEC, not just the logistics system," he said.
The reverse osmosis system in the EEC proposed to the ONWR would provide an additional water supply aside from rain.
Mr Chansin said that if the government invites PTT to operate a reverse osmosis system, the company will not hesitate to jump at the opportunity. But ultimately it will depend on the conditions of the business.
PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC), the petrochemical production arm of PTT, said it has reduced water consumption in its operations by 30% since the 2005 drought and is ready to tackle repeat droughts.
Chief executive and president Kongkrapan Intarajang said PTTGC has prepared for further droughts by using reused and recycled water, as well as applying technology to reduce water usage in its production process.
He said PTTGC's petrochemical complex in Map Ta Phut has more than 30 production plants from upstream to downstream.
FULL RESERVOIRS?
SET-listed Gulf Energy Development Plc voiced confidence that its power plants would be able to meet the 10% water reduction target set by the government.
The months ahead could be a repeat of 2015, when water in rivers and dams was at a critical level and power plants in the group were able to manage water usage effectively.
Yupapin Wangviwat, executive director and chief financial officer, said that under the current conditions Gulf is confident of operating its plants effectively.
Gulf has prepared for such an event since last year and has had discussions with government agencies such as the Royal Irrigation Department and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Ms Yupapin said.
The company has also provided guidelines for water management in various industrial estates in which the company's power plants are located, instilling confidence in all parties that the industrial estates and factories will jointly manage the water shortage and have enough water to last until the rainy season.
The power plants have gradually accumulated water in reservoirs, up to full capacity at each reservoir. Gulf said the drought situation should not affect the overall operations of the group.
Aside from managing water resources, the small private power plants owned by Gulf can also sell electricity and steam to industrial customers continuously.
The company has also discussed water management strategies with the industrial estates where Gulf's power plants are situated.
Relevant parties are confident that industrial estates and factories will be able to jointly manage the water supply sufficiently until the rainy season.
This year, Gulf plans to sell 6-7% of the electricity it generates to industrial customers, generating a stable income from both government and industrial clients.