20 Bang Chan factories closed | Bangkok Post: business

Twenty of the 93 factories in Bang Chan industrial estate have suspended operations as the floodwater in the area continues to rise, industry permanent secretary Witoon Simachokedee said on Wednesday.

Mr Witoon said the industrial estate in Min Buri was listed as under threat of flood. The level of water in Khlong Saen Saep today was recorded as 97 centimetres above normal.As a consequence, 20 factories had announced a temporary closure as a precaution against possible damage. Others had begun raising their machinery to higher levels.The industrial estate houses 93 factories with a combined investment of 19.8 billion baht with more than 13,800 workers.Twenty-nine pumps with a combined capacity of 500,000 cubic metres per day have been installed to drain the water out.Mr Witoon said he had instructed chiefs of industry offices in flooded and previously flooded provinces to find out whether any of the 1,100 pumps available to them could be relocated to areas where they are now needed, and report to him by 4pm today.The management of Bang Chan industrial estate and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration have agreed to lay "big" sandbags along Serithai road in front of the Saha Union factory to prevent water seeping into the estate.Excavators were used to remove garbage and weeds from nearby canals leading to Bueng Krathiam swamp to facilitate the water flow into Khlong Saem Saep.Yongyuth Thongsuk, the deputy permanent secretary for industry, the water level had been stabilised following the use of water pumps and powerboats to help push water ialong Khlong Saen Saep.Somjet Tinapong, chairman of the executive committee of the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) and former governor of the Industrial Estates Authority of Thailand (IEAT), said Lat Krabang industrial estate was also facing a threat of flooding.Mr Somjet, who is a member of the working team to protect Lat...