Ayutthaya call for flood aid

The government is being urged to improve water management in 16 provinces in the Central Plains to avoid massive flooding and damage to industrial infrastructure and agricultural areas.

Kriangkrai Danchaivichit, chairman of the Ayutthaya’s Chamber of Commerce, said the local private sector wants the government to expand flood mitigation projects in the region and develop a database for water usage by the industrial sector.

The province is scheduled to host a mobile cabinet meeting tomorrow.

He said Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani have many factories, with the former alone housing 2,400 Japanese factories that employ about 350,000 people.

Mr Kriangkrai said the local businesses support the government’s plan to build an electric rail system linking Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus station on Bangkok’s Red Line via the Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate in Pathum Thani to Ban Phachi Junction in Ayutthaya.

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said earlier the Bangkok-Ayutthaya route should be a part of the planned BangkokChiang Mai high-speed rail project, which the government aims to implement by this year.

According to Mr Kriangkrai, the government is committed to developing Ayutthaya as one of the world’s top 10 tourist destinations, investing an estimated 8-10 billion baht.

The province received 700 million baht in 2017 fiscal budget to improve its landscape.

The number of tourists to Ayutthaya is expected to reach 18 million by 2025, compared with 6.7 million visitors now, increasing the per capita income in the province three times to 450,000 baht.

Prime Minister’s Office Minister Suvit Maesincee said the private sector has also urged the government at the weekly cabinet meeting to speed up development of special economic zone in Kanchanaburi, vocational education system and a clear plan to upgrade skilled labourers to cope with Thailand 4.0 initiative.

He added that the cabinet meeting will also discuss infrastructure development in the central region.