Bangkok (The Nation/ANN) - An embankment will be put up along the length of the Chao Phraya River from Uthai Thani down to Ayutthaya in Thailand - estimated to be more than 300km - as part of the government's plans to prevent flooding in the Central region.
Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut yesterday said construction would soon start on some parts of the planned stretch.
"We have to do it before the rainy season arrives," he said, adding that the embankment would boost water-management efficiency in the Chao Phraya basin, which suffered the brunt of last year's flood crisis.
The embankment will be constructed from scratch in some areas, and raised from the current level in others.
Muang Angthong mayor Chai Suwaphan said the height of the reinforced-concrete embankment in his stretch of the Chao Phraya would be increased from 7.5 metres to 10m above mean sea level.
"Last year, the water level rose to about 10m [above sea level]," he said.
Chai said the heart of Angthong only narrowly escaped the wrath of the floods last year because the authorities had raised the embankment level with wooden boards and concrete blocks in the nick of time. "So, we have to make more preparations and take precautions from now on," he added.
Winai Limsakul, who heads the Public Works Department of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said the height of four main roads in the capital would also be raised for flood-prevention purposes.
"They are Suwinthawong, Hataimit, Rat-Uthit and Buddha Mondhol III roads," he said, pointing to the fact that these thoroughfares could serve as floodwalls to protect the inner zone of Bangkok.
Winai said a 10-km stretch of Buddha Mondhol III Road, for example, would become 50 centimetres higher. The bidding process for the surface-level heightening will likely start in May.
BMA deputy permanent secretary Jumpol Sampaopon said canals in the capital would be dredged during the next three to four months as a flood-prevention measure.
"But rain may come earlier than usual, due to the La Nina effect," he said, adding that heavy downpours had already started this year.
Seree Supharatid, who sits on the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management, said a final decision had not yet been taken on which areas would be used as flood areas if the amount of run-off from the upper part of the country proved too huge to cope with.
"The government may not expropriate the areas, but may pay compensation [for rent] to their owners," he said. "The areas may be rented for about three months each year."
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra earlier suggested that her government would find about 2 million rai of land for water-retention purposes so as to minimise flood damage when the massive amount of run-off from the North heads downstream.
"Definitely, community areas won't be used for water retention," Seree confirmed yesterday.
However, he reckoned that the relevant authorities might have to negotiate with the owners of some fields in Ayutthaya's Bang Pahan, Bang Ban and Phak Hai districts so as to access the plots for water retention.
Theera added that in a bid to prevent severe flooding this year, a new sluice gate was now being constructed in Sing Buri's Prom Buri district.
"It will replace the old sluice gate that was severely damaged last year," he said.
Construction, which will cost about Bt145 million, is scheduled for completion by July.
The Interior Ministry has instructed the governors of 24 provinces to quickly develop flood-prevention plans.
"The rainy season will start within three months. So, the provincial governors must clear any clogging of waterways and drainage pipes in their areas before that," said Pracha Terat, deputy permanent secretary of the ministry.
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