Terms of reference ready for approval

Finalisation in the next 45 days

The terms of reference (TOR) for six local and international consortia bidding for the Bt350-billion flood and water management projects have been submitted to the Water and Flood Management Commission for initial consideration, pending finalisation in the next 45 days, the WFMC said yesterday.

The complete version of the TOR will be made available next week after they are scrutinised by the WFMC, before they are returned to the consortium members for final bidding, said Royon Jitdon, a member of the commission. He said a project to set up and run a database would cost less than the allocated Bt5 billion.

There are a number of disputes over the TOR, whether the construction of expensive floodways, catchment areas, and large dams are needed for overall flood and water management. There has also been uncertainty about budgets earmarked for them, said another WFMC member, Aphichart Anukoolamphai.

The first consortium is a Thai-Japanese venture, which passed the first selection in eight modules out of 10. The Thai firm is Unique Engineering and Construction, which has built many major projects, while the Japanese partners include Obayashi Corporation, Taisei Corp, Kajima Corp and Shimizu Corp, all of which have experience in building large-scale dams, bridges and tunnels in many countries.

This consortium also comprises four leading Japanese consultancy firms that took part in many projects through the national flood-management agency of Japan and in cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It also has 10 other Thai and Japanese construction firms as project partners.

Another consortium is a Chinese-Italian group - ITD-Power China JV - which comprises Italian-Thai Development (ITD) and three Chinese construction and water-management firms. Power China has built many structures worldwide, including dams at major rivers in and outside China, including two major ones in Ethiopia and Pakistan.

Korea Water Resources Corp, which is entering the fray on its own, without Thai partners, is a potential bidder, with many large-scale projects under its belt. This South Korea-based company has registered capital of Bt650 billion, and plays a crucial role in planning national water and flood management for the Korean government, in addition to several other related projects.

K-water has shown interest in building floodways, citing the 29 floodway projects it built in South Korea as an example of its success.