Tears flow as Chao Phraya bursts into industrial estate
- Published: 14/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
Powerful floodwater from the Chao Phraya River has burst into the Hi-Tech Industrial Estate in Bang Pa-in district of Ayutthaya province after efforts to strengthen its dyke failed.
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong bursts into tears and consoles people at a Japanese business in the Hi-Tech Industrial Estate at Bang Pa-in district of Ayutthaya when floodwaters broke through the dyke Wednesday..
Ayutthaya industrial chief Prayoon Tingthong said workers had plugged leaks in the dyke on Wednesday but a section of the wall finally collapsed yesterday under the pressure of an ocean of floodwater flowing around the estate, mostly from the Asian Highway.
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong burst into tears and gave a consoling hug to a Japanese investor whose factory is in the industrial estate as the attempt to fend off the deluge failed.
Mr Kittiratt said workers at the industrial estate tried to secure the dyke yesterday morning but there were too many leaks and floodwater finally broke through the southern side just before midday.
Mr Kittiratt said there was a slim chance of restoring flood protection for the Hi-Tech Industrial Estate and that the military was determined to continue with the fight. He asked the army to use its transport helicopters to place cargo containers outside the broken flood wall to reduce the water flow.
More than 1,000 soldiers arrived from Ratchaburi yesterday to try to build another dyke inside its old flood wall to prevent further flooding of the estate.
Hana Microelectronics, a listed electronics firm, said it had evacuated people and moved machinery from its factory after the flood water started swirl into the compound.
The water has not reached Hana's integrated circuit factory, chief financial officer Terry Weir said.
"We still have a task force there to secure the building," he said. "It looks like the government cannot control the situation right now."
Yeap Swee Chuan, president and chief executive of Aapico Hitech Plc, said the flood had not reached his factory.
The company is keeping machinery and about 50 staff at the factory in the hope the water will not get into the facility, he said. Machinery and raw materials can be moved out of flood areas immediately, he said.
Mr Kittiratt said Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to convene a meeting of economic authorities on Monday to assess flood damage to the economy and to work out assistance for affected businesses. The assistance may include tax relief and help for workers. Representatives of the Bank of Thailand, the Industry Ministry, the Labour Ministry and commercial banks will attend the meeting.
Mr. Kittiratt said it was still difficult to estimate the extent of the damage to the economy. The flooding also shook foreign investors' confidence as it has forced business and industrial operators to suspend their production.
Industry Minister Wannarat Channukul said yesterday most areas of the 4,858-rai compound of the Hi-Tech Industrial Estate were flooded. Most of the workers have been evacuated. There are 143 factories in the estate. Investments there exceed 65 billion baht and more than 51,000 people are employed there.
The estate houses factories manufacturing rubber, plastic, steel, metal, automotive and electronic products as well as electrical appliances and transport facilities.
The estate is south of the Rojana Industrial Park that fell to floodwater early this week. The next industrial estate facing the risk of being inundated is Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate which is only about a kilometer to the south of the Hi-Tech compound.
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