The announcement was made today (May 2) by OrBorJor President Paiboon Upatising in the meeting of the “Phuket Clinic Centre”, comprising representatives of many of the island’s municipalities and sub-districts (OrBorTor).
“We invited the heads of all these organisations to present information about their area and their plans to prevent flooding,” Mr Paiboon explained after the meeting.
He said that the B60 million budget will be applied first to the most urgent situations, and to projects that are well advanced in planning.
He gave a list of flood problems to be tackled.
“In Patong, the plans and necessary sites are ready to build a floodgate to keep sea water out when sea level rises too high,” he said.
“In Phuket Town, the wall along the side of Klong Bang Yai near Satree Phuket School is now very old. We will renovate the wall and widen the klong at the same time. And in Koh Kaew, we will improve the drainage.”
Two places where flooding can have a serious effect on life on the island are in Baan Don, where floods can affect Thepkrassattri Rd, and in Saku, where parts of the airport road are prone to flooding.
Another concern is in Srisoonthorn where government housing has been built of flood drainage areas.
“There are now around 10,000 government housing units have been built which block the path of water to the sea.
“Normally, an EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] has to be done beforehand for any housing project but these projects are exceptional and have therefore become a problem. We have to talk with them [the National Housing Authority] to see how they can help.”
Other areas with flood problems, but without firm plans, approval or budgets to solve them include Chalong, Kathu, Karon, Rassada, Rawai, Pa Khlok and Kamala, he said.
“I think the main cause of flooding problems on the island is the accelerating pace of property development and, in some cases, land owner covering over natural drainage routes.”
Mr Paiboon said it was often difficult to build public drainage across land that is privately owned.
“Some problem areas still cannot be fixed because the owners of the land do not allow us to build public drainage. However, we will negotiate with them.
“We will also check the validity of their land papers to see whether the land really qualifies to be in private hands.”
Not all is gloom, however, he said, noting that many flood prevention projects have been carried out.
“Since we started our flood protection project, we have had many successes. For example, the area in front of the Muslim Wittaya School in Koh Kaew no longer floods because a local land owner allowed us to drain water onto his land, from where it flows into the sea.
“Also, in front of Wat Latthiwanaram temple in Chalong, improvement of drainage has stopped the flooding.
“I believe that the money we spend on the projects next year will solve many flooding problems.”