The government has ordered the relocation of the 32-rai Bangkok Port next to the Chao Phraya River in Klong Toey district so the area can be renovated to benefit the public.
A source said the Secretariat of the Cabinet had issued a letter signed by Thawatchai Chanpaisansil, adviser to the Cabinet Secretariat in his capacity as acting secretary-general of the cabinet on April 4 to the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Interior, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT). The letter was about the resolution of the cabinet meeting last Tuesday to relocate Bangkok Port out of the capital.
The letter stated that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin proposed the relocation of the port in the cabinet meeting on April 2. He said that the relocation of the PAT's port, also known as Klong Toey Port, will benefit people living in the Klong Toey area as well as in the capital as a whole as the government tries to solve the dust pollution created by freight trucks entering and leaving Bangkok Port daily.
The cabinet then told the Ministry of Transport to work with the PAT and other agencies to expedite a relocation feasibility study. The order to relocate the port also covers moving all facilities including depots and oil storage facilities.
The Ministry of Transport, PAT, BMA, and related agencies need to collaborate to draft a development plan after the relocation to solve various issues in the area, such as slum community problems, traffic congestion, and dust pollution, the source said.
The area should be used primarily for the public benefit of Bangkokians, and the study's results must be reported to the Prime Minister as quickly as possible.
"The Prime Minister wanted to improve the quality of life of people in the Klong Toey area and does not want to have the port in inner Bangkok as that creates many problems such as an increase of small dust particles from container trucks," said the source.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt previously proposed and discussed this matter with the prime minister when the two met at City Hall in February.
The premier realised that it was necessary to study the matter urgently, said the source.
The BMA wants to move Bangkok Port to the Laem Chabang deep-sea port in Chon Buri. It hopes to mitigate air pollution and develop the area as a green space for city people.