Cabinet approves 82.5 billion baht project plan to clean up Bangkok’s polluted canal

Bangkok’s Khlong Saen Saep is in for a major cleanup. Garbage litters the waterway and wastewater flows into the canal, which is a major water transit with an express boat service running through the capital. To tackle the problem, the Thai Cabinet approved an 82.5 billion baht, 11-year rehabilitation project.

The waste from the canal, which connects with the Chao Phraya River and runs to Prachinburi and Chachoengsao, has contaminated the Bang Pakong River in Chachoengsao. Sub-projects under the plan are set to manage treat wastewater before it is emptied into the river.

The cabinet also assigned eight government agencies, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, to boost transportation safety along the canal, improve the surrounding scenery, remove pollution, halt natural resource deterioration, and manage water resources, according to deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek. She claimed that the government would pay 81% of the project, with the balance coming from the BMA and public-private partnership (PPP) funds.

More piers are planned to be built along Khlong Saen Saep to accommodate the 800 to 1,000 passengers who go by electric boat each day, as the increased water treatment capacity will also help the rapid drainage of water and the expansion of flood protection areas in Bangkok.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post