Flooding in Bangkok, if it lingers longer than 3 months,
will cost 250 billion in economic losses, according to a senior officer of
the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
Pornsilp Patcharintanakul, deputy secretary-general of
the chamber, warned of the economic fallout after Bangkok Governor
Sukhumbhand Paribatra said that Bangkokians in all 50 districts must brace
for the massive deluge from the North.
Pornsilp said the capital’s gross domestic product (GDP)
amounts to one trillion baht annually, therefore the government must
urgently tackle the flooding situation and salvage the capital through water
drainage to the sea.
“Bangkok should be restored to normalcy within three
months, otherwise it would cost the city 250 billion baht in economic losses
or 83 billion baht a month,” he said. “The longer the flood, the more losses
incur to its economy.”
Pornsilp also advised that the government should provide
a measure to help shore up the industrial sector through corporate tax
reductions and extend Board of Investment privileges as well as provide
interest-free credit to small- and medium-sized enterprises, in particular
loans without collateral or government-guaranteed loans. (MCOT)
