Making waves: Phuket water projects dive deep into billion-baht territory
The Phuket Provincial Water Resources Subcommittee delved into water projects exceeding 1 billion baht yesterday and made quite a splash. The meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall and chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Norasak Suksombun, saw a flood of attendees from various government agencies.
The discussion navigated through the island’s rainfall patterns, water levels in its three main reservoirs, water consumption, tap water production, and reports from the Southern Western Meteorological Center, the Phuket Irrigation Office, the Phuket Waterworks Authority, and Phuket City Municipality, diving deep into the aquatic intricacies of the region.
Furthermore, consideration of project plans aligned with the water resources action plan for fiscal year 2025 garnered significant attention. These plans had previously been approved by the Cabinet during the mobile Cabinet meeting in Ranong on January 23.
During the mobile Cabinet meeting, the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) encouraged Phuket officials to submit additional water resources action plans and proposals for project plans. The ONWR emphasised the importance of meeting deadlines and adhering to procedural protocols, according to an official report of the meeting.
It was revealed that the Phuket Provincial Office had reviewed a total of 40 water resources project plans, amounting to almost 602 million baht. These plans aimed to enhance water resource management infrastructure and capabilities across the province.
The 40 projects were divided into two categories. The first category comprised 38 projects requiring a total budget of 575.5 million baht.
Budget requirements
This included 30 projects under the Phuket Irrigation Office requiring a total of 426 million baht, four projects by the Phuket Waterworks Authority (PWA) requiring 24.2 million baht, two additional projects by the PWA requiring 22.3 million baht, one wastewater project requiring 85.5 million baht, and one project by Thepkrasattri Municipality, whose budget requirements were not reported.
The second category consisted of two water projects approved by the Cabinet. One was the reinforcement of the banks of Klong Bang Yai next to Satree Phuket School with a budget of 25.8 million baht, and a line of credit extended to the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO) to complete the project. The other was a PWA project to expand the water distribution system throughout the Na Ko-Bang Jo Rd area in Srisoonthorn with a budget of 10.9 million baht.
However, the official report of the meeting did not mention the long-anticipated water-supply pipeline from Phang Nga, whose progress had been stalled in Bangkok long before the national election last year.
The meeting concluded by emphasising the importance of reviewing and approving project plans in line with the established water resource action plan. The report highlighted that the discussions represented a concerted effort to address the evolving water resource needs of Phuket and ensure sustainable management and accessibility for its residents.
