Soft Loans to Be Offered to Industrial Estates for Flood Protection

(12/11/2011)

The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and developers of industrial estates and industrial parks will be offered soft loans of up to 15 billion baht to develop their flood protection systems. The 15-billion-baht credit line was approved at the first joint meeting of the Flood Recovery and Restoration Committee and the Flood Recovery Restoration Committee on Economy, Industry, and Livelihood. The meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Police General Kowit Wattana, took place on November 11 at Government House. The loans, with an annual interest rate of only 0.01 percent and a repayment period of seven years, will be extended by the Government Savings Bank. At the same time, the meeting endorsed four projects, worth 112.84 million baht, for the establishment of evacuation centers for the industrial sector, safety and environmental management in flooded workplaces, for the testing of the water and soil quality and contaminated substances in flood-hit areas, and water drainage from industrial estates. The meeting also agreed to seek additional compensation budget from the Cabinet to assist flood-hit residents. Each affected family will receive a flat compensation rate of 5,000 baht. In the face of possible flooding on Rama II Road, the main route from Bangkok to southern Thailand, Thai Airways International has decided to reduce its fares by 47-58 percent for tickets from the capital to five southern destinations, namely Surat Thani, Krabi, Phuket, Hat Yai, and Samui Island. The special offer will be available from 11 November to 10 December 2011. For more information, please call the THAI Contact Center, at 02-356-1111. A report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, would pay a working visit to Thailand on November 16-17. The visit will provide an opportunity for the Secretary-General to learn first-hand how the flood crisis in Thailand is extensively affecting the lives and property of the Thai people. Cooperation between the United Nations agencies and Thai authorities in assisting flood-affected areas will be among the issues under discussion. In his remarks at the Asia-Pacific Business Symposium, organized by the East-West Center on November 10 in Hawaii, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul expressed his appreciation to all the countries that had extended support and assistance to Thailand, which was facing the worst flooding in the living memory of its people. He told the symposium that the Thai government had recently approved a Relief and Recovery Plan and Package, including immediate relief measures to flood victims, social rehabilitation activities, post-crisis loans and incentives, and a long-term plan to develop a comprehensive water resources management system to prevent the recurrence of such devastation. He stressed that the Government’s determination to assist investors, both Thai and foreign, in flood-hit areas to resume operations as soon as possible. Measures would also be put in place to accelerate the post-crisis reconstruction of industrial estates and logistics system.