Published on October 18, 2005

Area more modern than Singapore planned in the wasteland known as Cobra Swamp. The government is planning to spend more than Bt400 billion to establish a new province encompassing the country’s new international airport, which will be named “Nakhon Suvarnabhumi”.

“It’s going to be the 77th province of the country,” Deputy Interior Minister Somchai Sunthornvut said yesterday.

Suvarnabhumi Airport, which is scheduled for official opening in June next year, is expected to become the aviation hub of the region.

If established, Nakhon Suvar-nabhumi will be a special administrative zone with a total area of about 520 square kilometres.

Some areas of Bangkok’s Lat Krabang and Prawet district, as well as Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district and Bang Sao Thong sub-district will be assigned to the new province.

“Suvarnabhumi province will be as big as Singapore but it will be more modern with a special administration team to run the new city and the airport,” Somchai said.

Also, he expected Nakhon Suvarnabhumi to become the

country’s new economic centre

with a competitiveness to rival Singapore’s.

According to Somchai, relevant authorities have already prepared a development plan for the new province which will be implemented within the next 10 years.

“It will cost at least Bt400 to Bt500 billion to implement the plan,” he said.

Currently, he said there were some 450,000 residents in areas planned for Nakhon Suvar-

nabhumi. However, he believed a great number of people would emigrate into the new province when it was established.

Somchai said land prices there were destined to jump drastically. “Perhaps, a hundred fold,” he said.

Government Spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee explained that as a special administrative zone, Nakhon Suvarnabhumi would be flexible in its management. “It’s going to be more flexible than the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA),” he said.

Somchai and Surapong were speaking after they attended a meeting with all relevant parties on the plan to establish the new province.

According to Surapong, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has ordered Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam to hold public hearings among residents in the areas planned for the new province.

“We will revise our plan based on information from the people, and then we will forward the revised plan to the Cabinet before year’s end,” Somchai said.

With the Cabinet’s approval, he said the plan should be able to go to Parliament in the next session.

Asked why a new province was necessary, Somchai said it would prevent problems of having the airport under two separate provincial administrations.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Samart Ratchapolsitte, however, said there was no need to cut some parts of Bangkok and give them to a new province.

“What for?” he said.

Samart noted that the BMA had been able to efficiently facilitate traffic for Don Muang Airport and he believed it could do as well for Suvarnabhumi Airport.

“We can co-ordinate with our adjacent provinces and we have done it all along for everyday traffic. So, do we really need to have Nakhon Suvarnabhumi,” he asked.

Samart also raised concerns about floods, pointing out that many areas labelled for Nakhon Suvarnabhumi now served as regulating reservoirs for Bangkok.

“If you build residential areas there, floods will likely hit. Or, it means Bangkok will suffer from floods because it loses its regulating reservoirs,” he said.

Samart said he had already voiced his concerns to Interior Ministry in August.

Meanwhile, Samut Prakan Governor Sukhumrat Saributr said he agreed with the plan. As a special administrative zone, he said Nakhon Suvarnabhumi could be easily developed into a neat and tidy city to welcome foreigners.

He said the loss of Bang Pli and Bang Sao Thong should not affect his province’s annual budget.

Even without the two districts, he said his province would have Muang, Pra Pradaeng, Phra Samut Chedi and Bang Bo.

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