A group of residents from Rayong’s Muang district protested the proposed expansion of IRPC Plc facilities, claiming the company hasn’t solved current pollution problems.
Ban Laeng villagers in Rayong's Muang district are protesting the expansion of IRPC Plc.
IRPC, the refining arm and petrochemical of national energy conglomerate PTT Plc, has planned an expansion on 1,600 rai of land covering three tambons: Tapong, Cheng Nuen and Ban Laeng.
Udomdet Siriphakdi, a member of a Ban Laeng environmental-conservation group, said locals long have suffered the foul odours generated by the current IRPC operation, so the company should solve this problem first.
The villagers proposed that the company clear the pollution problem, but IRPC, instead, sought an agreement from the three tambon administration organisations to swap its land with public-land plots that had no risk of flooding.
The TAOs for Tapong and Cheng Nuen agreed on the land swap, but Ban Laeng villagers opposed the proposal as they feared that the company would recondition the land and re-direct water flow, which may cause flooding of their houses.
Mr Udom said villagers would wait for the decision of Ban Laeng TAO. If the decision is in favour of IRPC to proceed on its expansion, villagers will jointly hand over their authority for Srisuwan Janya, president of the Stop Global Warming Association to file a court case on their behalf.