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Published on March 4, 2008

Permanent secretary Saksit Tridech said the ministry would ask for the emergency budget to study the possibility of diverting water from neighbouring countries.

The study would determine the best water-diverting procedure and whether there was a need to hire a private company to carry out the task, Saksit said. He said the ministry would soon submit the special budget request to Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

His comments were made yesterday at a seminar on the Khong-Chi-Mool project for water diversion hosted by the National Economic and Social Advisory Council.

Sanan Chusakul from the Mool River Wetland Recovery Project, said the Khong-Chi-Mool project's first two phases, carried out by the Department of Energy Development and Promotion (now the Alternative Energy Devel-opment and Efficiency Department), had cost Bt28 billion.

The project supplied water for domestic use by building a total of 14 reservoirs - six on the Mool River and eight on the Chi River - in addition to the Huai Luang Reservoir Irrigation Project, he said. The third phase now was to bring water from the Khong River to develop 1.81 million rai of irrigated farmland, he said.

PM Samak's recent policy to divert water for mega-projects through tunnels via a hydraulic system had prompted questions about practicality.

The previous phases of the Khong-Chi-Mool project remained problematic and had not solved the drought as previous governments had promised. Instead they had caused more issues such as floods, loss of farm land and an increase in soil salinity in the region, he said. He urged the Water Resource Department to review and assess the Khong-Chi-Mool project.

Chi River basin residents' representative Nong Naenudon from Roi Et urged the government to consult locals before implementing the mega project plan.

Northeastern residents could not survive through water shortages if water-retaining sources were not well-maintained.

Janjira Pongrai

The Nation