Military land eyed for toxic waste estate

Military land eyed for toxic waste estate

Plan aims to avoid community protests

The Industry Ministry is on course to utilise unused military land to set up an industrial estate for toxic waste management in a bid to avoid conflicts with communities, says Pasu Loharjun, deputy director-general of the Industrial Works Department.

Soldiers inspect a huge pile of rubbish in Lat Sawai municipality of Pathum Thani’s Lam Luk Ka district on Monday. (Bangkok Post photo)

The ministry expects to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the military soon to find a suitable location for the project, said Mr Pasu.

He said a senior military officer had, by chance, discussed the growing amount of toxic waste with senior ministry officials, triggering the idea about unused military land.

"The project is essential, as we need to find a place to treat mounting toxic waste from the industrial sector, which increases in line with industrial expansion," said Mr Pasu.

The estate needs to be large enough to control emissions from the treatment and prevent contaminating the area.

Once the two parties sign the MoU, they will both study location options.

The model for collaboration has not been finalised.

The most likely choice is army property, as it is one of the largest landlords in Thailand, said Mr Pasu.

Army bases are used mostly for soldiers' training camps.

The industrial sector produces about 30 million tonnes of waste per year, with 3 million tonnes of that toxic waste.

Only 1 million tonnes of toxic waste per year can be tracked to treatment systems.

The department hopes to track 1.2 million tonnes this year and 1.5 million tonnes in 2015, Mr Pasu said.

"This is a big problem because we don't know where the rest of the toxic waste is going. Improperly treated toxic waste means our natural resources could be contaminated, affecting people's health," said Mr Pasu.

Environmental activist Srisuwan Janya said using army land to manage toxic waste was a good idea, as the military had strong security and the estate would be far from communities.

"I think communities will support this project, as the land is far from their livelihoods," he said.

Mr Srisuwan suggested the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) and the military allow companies interested in investing in the estate be granted 30-year leases.

In related news, the IEAT plans to build six new industrial estates in Rayong, Chon Buri, Chachoengsao, Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon provinces.

Also, the Industrial Works Department has reported an increase of 9% for new factory registrations.

Production expanded over the first 10 months of the year as total investment of 469 billion baht flowed in, with an annual projection of 10% growth to 500 billion.

The increase was attributed to the start of the eco-car scheme's second phase.

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