Thailand mulls to hire flood prevention consultancy

BANGKOK, June 11 (TNA) - A government-appointed water management committee will ask the Thai Cabinet to approve terms of reference (TOR) for selecting and hiring a world best flood prevention consultancy. Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, who is also the chairman of the Water Resources Management and Flood Control Committee (WRMFCC), told reporters that the Water and Flood Policy Committee (WFPC), headed by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra herself, discussed comprehensive water management policies Monday. Plodprasop, who attended the meeting, revealed that the Thai government has borrowed 350 billion baht for nationwide water management projects and spent part of the sum and the WFPC plans to select the world’s most capable consultancy to work out sustainable water management for Thailand. According to the minister, the WFPC has already come up with the TOR for the selection and will ask the Cabinet to approve them Tuesday. The minister said that prior to the final selection, contesting consultancy firms need to show their outstanding achievements over the past decade, follow His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's water management guidance and the Thai goverment-appointed Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management (SCWRM)'s short and long-term water management plans for 25 river basins in the country, and that he believes the Thai government can hire the world's most efficient consultancy. The minister assessed although the construction of flood prevention structures has not made much progress, Thailand should be safe from any severe flooding this year and in the long run the country could solve both flooding and drought problems, acknowledging that the government would prevent encroachments on waterways and solve people's housing problems in a sustainable fashion. (TNA)