Conservation plan bumps dam idea

The government will scrap the controversial Kang Sua Ten Dam project and opt for a cheaper and more efficient project to conserve basin and watershed areas to prevent seasonal flooding in Phrae province. "The conservation project will handle 1.4 billion cubic metres of overflow water at a cost of Bt2 billion while the dam could only hold 800 million cubic metres at a cost of Bt6 billion," said Plodprasop Suraswadi, permanent secretary of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. Phrae authorities and relevant government agencies have already endorsed the conservation project, Plodprasop said. The conservation was meant to restore the natural terrain and improve water flow through a series of weirs and dykes in 26 lowlands areas of the Yom basin and the river's 16 tributaries, he said. Phrae Governor Amornphan Nimanan said the dam's construction had been put on hold indefinitely because of strong opposition from environmental-conservation groups. "I still believe the dam might be needed in the future," he said, conceding that it was unnecessary at this juncture.