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The government needs to eliminate the environmental hurdles for the 76 projects, because they are meant to strengthen Thailand's energy security and reduce imports, Kasikorn Research Centre (KResearch) said yesterday.

Some of the projects are power plants, while others are in upstream industrial sectors like petrochemicals and steel. All of them will support the Kingdom's goal of reducing imports.

KResearch said that if the projects could not proceed and too many products continued to be imported, revenue from exports and tourism would not be enough to cover the cost of the imports.

It also said despite public suspicions, industrial development could proceed, due to advanced technology that could reduce pollution levels. However, the government must educate the public and set clear policies regarding social responsibility. Without public consent, the industries involved could encounter risks, while without the industries, local communities would not benefit from their natural resources.

Regarding the government's appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, KResearch said even if the Central Administrative Court's September 29 injunction was reversed, the 76 projects would suffer damage. How much would depend on the length of the suspension.

As well, even if the Supreme Administrative Court reverses the lower court's decision, private companies would still need to win the lower court's consent before they could proceed.

KResearch also said if the court found that all eight government units had failed to comply with the Constitution, all projects would strictly have to follow Article 67, which would result in even more operational delays.

It said proceedings at the Central Administrative Court could take months, plus an appeal could follow.

"This is simply one chapter in the problems associated with industrial development. While these 76 projects have already been affected, the government's actions in this case will foretell the fate of additional projects," it said.

It also said stricter environmental standards should not reduce Thailand's attractiveness to foreign investors, given that the standards were already at an international level at a time when environmental quality is a concern of all countries.

However, that attractiveness will be determined by the level of public consent, and as such, public participation must be taken into account when drafting new rules.