The cabinet on Tuesday approved an additional 573 million baht for the construction of a floodway in the lower part of Petchaburi province.
The floodway is part of the Phetchaburi Irrigation Project initiated by His Majesty the late King to alleviate flooding in the province.
It will be used to divert water from the Phetchaburi River before it can enter Phetchaburi town.
The floodway will have the capacity to handle 100 cubic metres of water per second.
The project has received 1.1 billion baht from the national expenditure budget over the past two fiscal years. The additional 573 million baht was requested and will be used to help manage water flow and for linking canals.
Meanwhile, the whole project will take seven years to complete and cost an estimated and 8.5 billion baht.
Other portions of the 8.5 billion baht budget will be put to the cabinet later.
Residents in Petchaburi province have suffered flooding for many years. Last year, the province suffered some of its worst flooding which resulted in many areas submerged under water.
Floods usually result in roads in and out of the province being blocked, severely affecting transport links.
Moreover, Phetkasem Road, the main road leading to southern Thailand is also often hit by floods, affecting not only locals but also travellers.