Thai industrial investment suffers as court issues injunction
Wednesday, 07 Oct 2009
The Nation reported that Thailand's industrial investment scene has suffered another blow as the Central Administrative Court issued an injunction against proceeding with 76 projects slated for Map Ta Phut and nearby areas in Rayong with a combined investment of about THB 400 billion.
As per report, the court's ruling in favor of villagers in and outside the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate will affect 76 projects that have passed an environmental impact assessment. These projects are pending construction licenses under the Constitution's Article 67, which requires a health impact assessment, public consent and approval from the yet to be established in dependent environment body.
The 76 projects to be located in Map Ta Phut, Ban Chang and other areas belong to a number of major companies, including the PTT Group and the Siam Cement Group.
Mr Korbsak Sabhavasu Deputy Prime Minister recently said that Thailand should not be home to polluting heavy industries.
In a paper by the Federation of Thai Industries' communications and technical task forces, for a win win solution the government is urged to allow responsible companies or projects that comply with rules to proceed, and to punish non compliant companies. Meanwhile, industrial projects must continue to reduce pollution as in the established plan and escalate community relations efforts.
