The terms of reference for the government's water management and flood prevention projects are set to reach the cabinet tomorrow despite warnings from experts that they are not ready.
Plodprasop: Plans revised, cost intact
The experts say the 350-billion-baht projects have not been studied sufficiently and may eventually fail.
Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, who heads the government's Water Management and Flood Prevention Commission, said the ToR could be announced tomorrow afternoon as it does not require endorsement from the ministers.
But Suwat Chaopreecha, president of the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT), said feasibility studies should be conducted first.
Mr Suwat said if the government signs contracts and pays contractors before conducting feasibility studies, it could lead to delays and even legal trouble.
Feasibility studies and public consultation could determine that earmarked construction sites are unsuitable. Contractors could sue the government over delays, he said.
Mr Suwat said the government should base its budget on academic information and suggestions instead of figures provided by potential contractors.
Suwattana Chittaladakorn, head of the EIT's water engineering subcommittee, agreed expert assessments should be carried out first.
He also wondered what criteria the government would use to select contractors.
The government has received only conceptual proposals from potential contenders and the proposals were based on different conditions, he said.
Mr Suwattana said projects have not been assessed in terms of economic returns, environmental impacts or technical and engineering aspects. He doubts the projects can be completed in five years as Mr Plodprasop has predicted.
Seri Suprathit, director of the Energy for Environment Centre, said scientific evaluations were needed to determine the projects' practicality, and at least two years would be needed to do this properly.
Mr Plodprasop said the ToR has been revised to comply with the conceptual proposals of six groups of qualified contenders. His commission worked out the original terms but they turned out to be irrelevant to what the contenders proposed.
The changes include the integration of the databases of all river basins and the relocation of water retention areas from the lower part to the upper part of the Central Plains.
They also include an increase from one to two floodways, one running along the east of the Chao Phraya River and one along the west side to protect the lower Central Plains from flooding.
The commission also changed financial plans for the water management and flood prevention projects in accordance with the costs that the qualified contenders proposed.
Despite the changes, the overall cost of 350 billion baht remains intact but the government will have to set aside funds to hire a consultant to supervise the construction, Mr Plodprasop said.
The six qualified contenders are Korea Water Resources Corp (K Water), ITD Power China, Summit SUT Joint Venture, Team Thailand Joint Venture, Japan-Thailand Joint Venture and Loxley Joint Venture.
K Water is the only contractor bidding for all 10 project modules.