Promenade project set to undergo EIA

An environment impact assessment (EIA) will be conducted for the Chao Phraya River promenade project, a Public Works official at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) confirmed yesterday.

Initially the project — which had a budget of 14 billion baht — was to go ahead without an EIA.

Taiwhut Khankaew, director of the Building Control Division, said the agency would push for the EIA process even though the Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning (Onep) insisted in a previous report the report was not necessary for the project.

He also said the promenade will be narrower than 15 metres and is expected to cost about 10 billion baht.

The so-called New Landmark of Thailand project was to feature a 20-metre promenade, stretching on both sides of the river for 7km, between Rama VII and Pin Klao bridges.

The scale of the project sparked a public outcry which led to reports the BMA may downsize the track to 12 metres.

The project is inching toward reality as the BMA has completed a terms of reference (TOR) document and is about to hire a consultant firm, Mr Taiwhut said, adding the agency is waiting for a budget of 76 million baht from the government to proceed with the hiring.

Mr Taiwhut said the TOR has been endorsed by four professional agencies, including the Council of Architects of Thailand.

He refused to answer questions about a call for a separate TOR for the project’s master plan which some observers say would ensure the project is properly developed.

He said with the TOR in place, it would take about one or two months for the consultant hiring process and another seven months for the feasibility and EIA studies.

“We asked the Onep to treat our project like those requiring EIA studies,” he said.

The Onep last month said the promenade is just a car-free walkway for pedestrians and cyclists, so it does not need such a report.

But as the project has attracted public attention for its environmental and social impacts, the EIA would answer doubts raised by the public.