A pipeline
stretching from central to north-east Thailand promises to “promote Thailand as
an energy hub in the region” and “increase energy security”, according to the
Ministry of Energy. Construction began in mid-2019, despite local communities
objecting that the largely Chinese-financed project could worsen flooding and
contaminate water.
The 342km pipeline will run two metres underground and link Thailand’s
north-eastern province of Khon Kaen to an existing pipeline in the central
province of Saraburi. Energy Minister Sonthirat Sonthijirawong attended a
ceremony on 5 February to lay the foundation of a 140 million litre oil tank in
Khon Kaen’s Ban Phai district at the end of the pipeline.
Altogether, it will pass through 70 towns in five provinces including Lopburi,
Nakhon Ratchasima and Chaiyaphum.
The route was agreed in August 2016, when the energy ministry signed a deal
with the project investor, Thai Pipeline Network (TPN).
The ministry has promoted the pipeline as a more efficient means of
transporting oil to the north-east, claiming it will lower oil prices and cut
down on accidents involving road tankers.
TPN director Panu Seetisarn said the pipeline will avoid 88,000 road tanker journeys
each year.
The THB9.2 billion (US$300 million) project is largely funded by a loan from
the Chinese government, which stipulates that at least 35% of the equipment
used must come from China. The precise details of the deal have not been made
public. However, Panu revealed that TPN and undisclosed investors are investing
about THB1 billion each.
The project has been progressing quickly since January last year when the
government approved the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report.
In February, TPN – a subsidiary of Power Solution Technologies (PSTC) – signed
a contract with China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering (CPP) to construct the
pipeline within a 30-month period. And then works commenced in mid-2019.
Panu also revealed that the company wants to link the pipeline to the capital
of Laos, Vientiane, and to southern China.
As well as the controversial north-eastern route, the first phase of another
route, from central to north, is also under construction. The northern route is
being developed with the ultimate aim of linking Tak province into Myanmar’s
Kayin state at Myawaddy.
Flood
risk
“This will lead to a big flood, bigger than the recent one,” said Ow, a local
resident of Khon Kaen’s Ban Phai district, recalling flash flooding following tropical
storm Podul that put homes under more than 1.5 metres of water for over a month
last summer.
She fears the construction of an oil tank a few kilometres away will
worsen flooding in future.
“Looking at its huge area and how high they have raised the land to level it
for construction, [it] will definitely block all waterways,” she said, adding:
“What will happen to us if there’s a big storm again?”
“After discussion with my neighbours, we [all] share the same concern and
decided to file a complaint to the local authority but nothing happened,” said
Ow.
The villagers’ concerns are justified, according to Jaroonpit Moonsarn, an
environmental official at the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion
(DEQP).
“There are two creeks, the Huay Bandoo and the Huay Khamrian, in the area that
are natural waterways helping to drain waters in the district. The construction
has blocked these significant waterways,” said Jaroonpit.
She believes another tropical storm in the area would create a bigger flood than
the one last August.
Dust, pollution and public safety
Flooding is tomorrow’s fear, but dust is today’s suffering, said Ow,
referring to air pollution caused by the construction of the oil tank that is
affecting surrounding communities.
“We filed a complaint to the construction company, but they told us to complain
and seek compensation from their subcontractors. It’s still unresolved. We
don’t know who to talk to,” she said.
Jaroonpit also noted local concerns about the project once it’s finished, such
as explosions, chemical contamination of local groundwater and heavy traffic.
Road tankers will still be needed to distribute oil from the pipeline to nearby
provinces, and additional tankers are expected to operate if the road to Laos
is improved.
“Public safety should be seriously studied and discussed, including how to
manage such risks and how to compensate,” she said.
“This involves the daily life of local people and they should have been
informed clearly before the project’s construction approval, otherwise it
leaves all the burden on them,” said Thawisan Lonanurak, former secretary
general of the North-eastern Chamber of Commerce.
Apart from the risks to public safety, there are several basic questions about
the project that need answering, according to Thawisan.
“Will oil prices in this area really be cheaper? How cheap? And most important,
how transparent is the deal between the state and private investor?” Thawisan
said.
“These questions should be answered at least during the EIA and hearing
process, but it hasn’t happened,” he added.
Witoon Kamonnarumet, senior advisor to the Khon Kaen Federation of Industry,
said hearings for the EIA were conducted twice among a small group of people
selected by the project owner and the company contracted to produce the EIA.
They were not open to the general public.
“Even local businessmen in my network said they know very little about this
project and are not clear on what it will really look like. We heard it would
come two years ago and then there was a long silence and then construction
started recently,” Witoon said.
“At the EIA hearing, most of the time was used for a company presentation
focusing on what they had done in other areas,” said Paitoon Mahachuenjai,
Nakhon Ratchasima’s Dan Khun Thod District head. They said that if there was
“any problem during construction they would be ready to help,” he added.
Local activist Suwit Kularbwong, chairman of the Human Rights and Environment
Association, said communities affected by the project have limited access to
information about it.
“Where will the pipeline pass through exactly? How much area will be
expropriated or compensated, and at what rate? They still don’t know. This goes
against the [country’s] 2017 Constitution on public information and public
participation for such a project,” Suwit said.
“This project has been initiated by the state and developed with a top-down
approach, without sufficient consideration of its impacts, and with poor public
participation. What will happen if more and more people along the pipeline know
about the real impacts after construction and learn that they were not informed
beforehand? Local opposition is foreseen. And government should be aware of
this as it could affect the ongoing construction of the project,” he said.
Chinese investment and public discussion
Suwit said there is inadequate public awareness and discussion about
projects and Chinese investment.
“The influence of Chinese investment in this region as well as the Mekong has
been growing rapidly in recent years, without taking human rights violations
and environmental impacts into account. And [it’s been] actively supported and
facilitated by our Thai government.
“The key question is how ready are we for such massive investment from China?
How ready is our government to protect its people’s interests from developments
like this one where they are losing their land?” asked Suwit.
To address public concerns, Suwit suggested open public forums so that
discussion could take place on the controversial oil pipeline and broader
development plans for the north-eastern region.
“That which is missing from the past EIA process should be fixed there. At the
forum, all basic project information should be available beforehand. It should
be open to participation and discussion from all groups,” Suwit said.
Thawisan shared the same suggestion. “Local universities and academics should
also play an important role to help digest technical and academic information
for local people to understand the project properly,” he said.
From our partner chinadialogue.net
