Project aims to reduce landslide problem
PATONG: Construction is due to begin in August on a 3.2-million-baht project aimed at mitigating damage from landslides in Patong.
Eight-meter long pipes are to be placed under four points along 50 Pi Rd to funnel water from higher ground into the nearby klong, thus reducing the likelihood of a landslide.
If a landslide does occur, it will be stopped, it is hoped, by a three meter-high, 72-meter-long embankment alongside the road. The project will also include resurfacing of around 128 square meters of roadway.
The Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) of Patong Municipality, Phunsak Naksena, told the Gazette that the Municipality had received “good cooperation” from owners of private land after it had appealed to them to plant trees on the hillside or to cover the ground with netting to prevent earth shifting when there is rain.
He said, “We should no longer have to worry about having a severe landslide problem in the area. We have tried our best to prevent the problem by asking for cooperation from businesspeople.”
K. Phunsak added that the land around the two areas which suffered most from landslides last year – near Klong Pak Bang and next to the Novotel – was owned by the Marine Department and the Novotel respectively, so it was up to them, rather than the Municipality, to install anti-landslide measures there.
The work on 50 Pi Rd is due to be completed before the end of the year.
