Govt seeks to implement 65 frozen projects in Map Ta Phut

BANGKOK, 6 December 2009 (NNT) – The government will request the Supreme Administrative Court to lift the suspension on 65 Map Ta Phut industrial projects once the four-party panel comes up with guidelines to tackle the project’s potential threats, according to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Speaking during his weekly TV program “Having Confidence in Thailand with Prime Minister Abhisit,” the PM stated that the four-party panel was assigned to work on the many problems the industrial estate was facing. After the panel completed its solutions to the problems the government would seek to unfreeze the 65 projects, he said.

On 2 December 2009, the Supreme Administrative Court pronounced a verdict to permit the operation of 11 out of 76 Map Ta Phut industrial projects previously suspended by the Administrative Court. All 76 projects had been frozen earlier due to concerns over environmental and health impacts on the locals.

The four-party panel is studying the effects of the projects suspension. They will specify operational directions for the projects in line with Section 67 of the Constitution and conduct environmental and health impact assessments.

Prime Minister Abhisit has called for cooperation from all sides in solving the Map Ta Phut problem which was likely to hurt the national economy.