Lists of prevention and rehabilitation plans have been constantly rolled out like the current flood waves flowing from the North to hit parts of Thailand. The latest one of all plans was initiated on 30 October 2011 by Yingluck Shinawatra’s government at Energy Complex Building, Ministry of Energy.
After the special Cabinet meeting on the day, Energy Minister Mr Pichai Naripthaphan revealed a project titiled ‘New Thailand’ which was brought into discussion as the national post-flood strategies among relevant ministers including Commerce Minister, Justice Minister, Transports Minister and ICT Minister.
The project is divided into 2 major phases. The first is the short-term rehabilitation strategy which demands a budget of approximately 100,000 milliion THB and will be implemented during the first year after the flood situation. Information from related local agencies and proposals from other countries such as the United States, the Netherlands and Japan will be taken into account for rehabilitation in this phase.
As for the long-term phase, it involves rehabilitation of the flood-ravaged industrial estates which in turn will generate job opportunities, reduce employment rate and improve the economy. Moreover, the Ministry of Energy has called on vocational students to inspect flooded equipment, machines and cars. The Ministry also has plans to reduce oil price by 50% and probably cut down on electricity bills for the residents in the flooded areas.
Meanwhile, workers will be hired back to repair the broken infrastructures. The budget in this phase costs up to approximately 600,000-800,000 million THB. However, it is confirmed that the amount of budget is not a problem since there is a large amount of reserved capital and several countries have shown their willingness to help in terms of funds as well, Energy Minister claimed.
