Contractors have begun connecting underground drainage pipes around the Mae La-Or Market with a new wastewater-treatment plant in Jomtien Beach and Pattaya officials are predicting the work will be on-time and problem-free.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay reviewed the ongoing construction May 21 at Wat Boonkanjanaram Soi 4. Work will continue through mid-June, 8 a.m. to midnight on both that street and Wat Boonkanjanaram Soi 5 with both closed to traffic.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay (center) leads Pattaya administrators on an inspection visit of the flood-drainage work at Wat Boonkanjanaram Soi 4.
Construction calls for placing 6-meter-long tanks to accommodate storm water on both sois and the water routed to the under-construction plant on Soi Wat Boonkanjanaram. Launched in 2010, the plant first was set for completion in 2012. The new completion date is set for Aug. 4 and Verawat promised fines against the contractor of 1.4 million baht a day if work runs late.
The market has been at the center of the area’s flooding problem, as drainage systems on either side of the area did not connect. Hence water backed up and flooded neighborhoods.
Verawat pledged that he and Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome will personally monitor progress of the work and have encouraged contactors Kijakrn Thai with Khawat-SG to keep area residents informed as well.
The deputy mayor said he did not expect the pipe work to cause water outages in the Jomtien area. However, if they do, the problem will be fixed immediately, he said.
“When the work is completed, water will drain more efficiently from sois 5-9, Soi Chularat and Sukhumvit Road since before there were no connections at this spot,” he said. “Hence, this area always floods plus Mae La-Or would always face problems.”
