BANGKOK, 22 August 2012 – The Cabinet has agreed to allocate more budget to support the water management policies in Bangkok and across the country.
Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, who chairs the Water and Flood Management Committee (WFMC), said on Tuesday that the weekly Cabinet meeting has resolved to grant around 450 million baht in an additional budget to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Royal Irrigation Department.
Mr. Plodprasop said that the additional budget allocation has been within the Emergency Decree, which authorized the Finance Ministry to make decision on loan applications to help manage the country’s water resources.
With this new amount, the BMA will be able to procure 30 more water pumps, while the Royal Thai Navy will be able to purchase 10 water-pushing vessels.
At the same time, the Royal Irrigation Department will also get more money to install garbage strainers and water-pump support systems.
Mr. Plodprasop added that the Cabinet will discuss next week the request from the Royal Irrigation Department for 603 million baht more to implement the siphon project at the Bang Chom Sri sluice gate in Ayutthaya Province and for another 340 million baht for a new sluice gate and a semi-permanent water pump station in Pathum Thani Province.
