Due to complaints from locals, executives at
NPSK Marine Co. will soon be moving operations out of Pattaya.
Phasakorn Channgam
A Pattaya boat-maintenance company will move most of its work to
Huay Yai following a protest by more than 50 area residents and students
angry over growing pollution at the Sukhumvit Road ship chandler.
Executives at NPSK Marine Co. told Pattaya City Councilman Amnuai
Somphongtham that engine installation, beam replacement and other heavy
work will be moved immediately to its factory in Huay Yai. Meanwhile,
the councilman reported, the company will take steps to shield neighbors
from odor and pollution stemming from smaller maintenance jobs until all
operations are moved to a new Phuket factory in May.
The news cheered protestors, led by students and faculty from Aksorn
Technology School, who picketed NPSK Dec. 3, complaining about dust, oil
pollution and noxious odors from paint and thinner.
Piyapong Rattanakornkulphat, 31, said the pollution has been a recurring
problem for five years, but that recently the company has increased its
business, creating more problems for neighbors. Out of patience, they
demanded the plant be closed permanently.
Amnuai and other area council members inspected the site and listened to
both protestors and company officials in an attempt to broker a
resolution.
The councilman reported that executives told him that the factory
recently began importing boat engines and installed them at the
Sukhumvit Road facility. It also was doing three beam replacement for
larger vessels, but executives dismissed any notion that work would have
affected neighbors.
Regardless, they told Annuai, NPSK already planned to move all its
operations from the Eastern Seaboard to Phuket in May. Until then, it
will continue to do speedboat maintenance, but take steps to mitigate
odors and fumes including moving paint jobs to the farthest side of its
property from homes.
