There’s a lot of ongoing construction going on around the island, and this is one thing to blame for some of the road conditions. One such construction is that of the Sam Kong underpass, already several months behind schedule, and one that has had scorn poured upon it recently by the Phuket Governor.
However, one thing that the Governor failed to scorn is the new drainage system being installed alongside the underpass route. This is part of the underpass project and has been ongoing since February.
Delays of these drains first came down to a lack of building sand, and the latest is that the Governor insists that work on the underpass is a priority. This resulted in Wiwat Cons. Co Ltd, responsible for both the underpass and the drains, allocating all its workers to focus on the underpass.
Yes, we understand what the Governor has ordered, but the work on those drains is now not due to be complete until June 2016. A nearby international hospital has built a complete new wing in the time the drain construction has been ongoing.
A further infrastructure project that seriously needs attention is the island’s water supply, as evidenced by our page one story. Though Wichit Municipal Council chairman Sakkamol awillaikul admits there is not not enough water for residents in Wichit, the Phuket Waterworks Authority played down complaints and even went as far as to ask people to get their own water supply.
If locals are paying the water authority for a water supply, why should they need an additional source?
Mr Sakkamol even stated that this has been a long-standing problem, but nothing has ever been done to resolve it.
Now, would this be the case if Wichit were a tourist area? Would it be acceptable to leave tourists with no running water?
If Phuket wants to continue to be seen as a world-class tourist destination, it must have the infrastructure to match. Officials, shouldn’t just pass blame for the poor infrastructure, they should just fix it.