Enviro Crackdown on All Phuket Marinas, Piers

All Places where yachts are moored now and where marinas are planned for Phuket in future are to be checked for environmental damage, the Governor, Wichai Praisa-nob, said today.

He specifically mentioned the plan for a new marina at Koh Sireh, the smaller island linked to Phuket City by a road bridge.

Other places where marinas are planned are also likely to be scrutinised closely.

''Some places already have marinas but there is no standard and we need to implement one,'' he told the second meeting of his special committee on the environment.

He said he believed garbage, pollution and bad water posed serious threats to Phuket's future balance between development and the environment.

If he had his way, he said, development woulds stop now. He said the problems were too great. However, under the law, development can continue.

In an effort to reduce damage, Governor Wichai has created the special committee to review environmental impact approvals on all future projects.

He told the initial meeting of the special committee last month that there was previously no mechanism in place to review the approvals, and no penalties for false approvals.

Today Phuketwan listened as the first of 37 projects was reviewed by the committee.

We have chosen in the interests of fairness not to name the project, but it is a large resort development, planned for a western beach zone.

A spokesman for the company that performed the Environmental Impact Assessment gave evidence before the committee, which includes environmentalists, a representative from the Land Office, the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation, local authorities and marine biologists.

The project was faulted on six factors and the aim today was to illustrate that those hurdles had been overcome.

Number of rooms The resort's room total had risen to 157.

Water treatment A small pond had been constructed to treat water before it was freed into the sea.

Garbage The EIA spokesman said garbage was to be brought to Phuket City for disposal at the island's communal rubbish dump. Patong authorities had declined to take trash from the new resort. The governor asked the representative from Phuket City whether the garbage could be taken there. He responded: ''No. We cannot take more garbage because the incinerator can only burm 250 tonnes a day and we already receive 300 tonnes.'' EIA representative: ''I heard that you have a plan to buy a new incinerator. Our resort will not be built for maybe two years.'' Phuket City rep: ''We do not have a deal signed for the second incinerator yet.''

Parking With 157 rooms, the EIA representative said, underground parking space was going to be provided now for 195 vehicles. The air would be extracted from the underground carpark by fans.

Landscaping Seven square metres of greenery would be provided for each guest to allow for global warming, which was two square metres above the requirement, the EIA spokesperson said.

Good Neighbors A retaining wall would be erected around the property so that neighbors will not be affected by runoff in heavy rains.

This is the fifth time this particular project has been reviewed. Today, it passed on all counts. The committee, which is to meet twice a month, was proceeding through the 37 cases, one by one.

News from : phuketwan.com