Thread: PT MPs propose new capital city

They have been talking about this since I have been here in fact it is a great idea.

Mass relocation of factories and work forces have seen the Eastern Seaboard grow at an amazing rate.

I am sure bangkok property prices will still continue their relentless rise all the same...

I think Pattaya should be the new capital,

at least the wonderful infrastructure there could take such a massive shift,

and there won't be any need to rebuild another Nana or Cowboy,

Bangkok is sinking about 20cm per year, according to the proposed motion.

2 metres a decade? I don't think so. The reports I saw said a centimetre a year. But the general idea is sound since the alternative is watching Bangkok be overwhelmed by the sea in the not too distant future.

Originally Posted by dirtydog

Should give the foreign investors in Bangkoks industrial parks something to think about, the government wants to abandon Bangkok so looks like your done for guys.

Good point. I think that Bangkok is too tied in to the central Thai economy- Thailand's economic, industrial, and transport hub- to make the decision to move the Capitol elsewhere an easy one. Foreign investors will certainly be sceptical about the funds required as well- funds that could be used to address the inadeqate drainage of the chao praya, and build further flood protection.

These floods may provide a filip to the spreading out of Thailands industrial infrastructure & zones further than the metro bangkok, eastern seaboard and Ayutthaya belt. A decent rail spine to the container ports would certainly encourage this too.

Bangkok is an awful place for a capital city and metropolis- it's swampland really, but I think we're probably stuck with it.

I am happy they thought ahead when they built Suwannaphum Airport. LOL

Mu family told me that many factory owner looking to relocate have been searching for property in Isaan.

And punters still think it is better to buy than rent.....

There are federal reasons for most of those - Brasilia also springs to mind. Best not to mention Naypyidaw, I guess.....

Oops.

I don't think its necessary to move the political capital. just relocate RID, EGAT and the ministry of agriculture complete with their bosses to ayutthaya; preferably to some particularly cheap low lying land near the river(s)

^ One of the savviest suggestions I've seen here for a long time.

Best just to upsticks and raise the whole city by a few cm. I suggest car jacks to take the weight of the city whilst water proof waders could be worn by the workers who have to stand in flooded area's.

Or we could just wait and see if it happens again next year as seasonal natural disasters seem to be a bit sporadic all across the world these days.

Global warming and the rising of the sea levels is a hoax lets not forget.

^Thats easy, all they have to do is stop people, buildings and companies from pumping water out from the ground and use CP river water.

Originally Posted by hazz

^Thats easy, all they have to do is stop people, buildings and companies from pumping water out from the ground and use CP river water.

Very true. I was a victim of that once.

Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince

Best just to upsticks and raise the whole city by a few cm. I suggest car jacks to take the weight of the city whilst water proof waders could be worn by the workers who have to stand in flooded area's.

....what a great idea....could have a 1000 tugboats standing by to bump and push it in to place.....and of course send the river on it's merry way....

Arr!!!!.....Old Siam....no other place like it...

What about Korat? Saraburi? Lopburi?

AFP: Thai lawmakers submit motion on moving capital


Rangsit district on the outskirts of Bangkok on November 15, 2011

Thai lawmakers submit motion on moving capital

(AFP)

BANGKOK — Lawmakers from Thailand's ruling political party submitted a parliamentary motion on Tuesday to begin discussions over possibly shifting the capital city to prevent future flooding chaos.

Experts have said Bangkok, which is built on swampland, is slowly sinking and the floods currently besieging the city of 12 million people could be merely a foretaste of a grim future, as climate change makes its impact felt.

Sataporn Maneerat, a Puea Thai party MP, told AFP that Thailand should think about looking to another city for future developments and investments.

"Another 19 Puea Thai MPs and I have signed and submitted a motion to parliament to seek approval to set up a committee, to consider whether the capital should be moved or if Thailand should have a second capital," he said.

"Bangkok is sinking every year. The capital will face more and more problems from natural disasters and the environment," he said, adding that the current capital was "over its peak".

He said the main alternative options for relocating the kingdom's political and economic heartland were in eastern and northeastern provinces.

At least 562 people have been killed across the country in Thailand's worst floods in half a century, which have inundated parts of the capital, although the downtown area remains dry after authorities' efforts to divert the waters.

The low-lying metropolis lies just 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of the Gulf of Thailand, where various experts forecast sea level will rise by 19 to 29 centimetres (7 to 11 inches) by 2050 as a result of global warming.

Water levels would also increase in Bangkok's main Chao Phraya river, which already overflows regularly.

If no action is taken to protect the city, "in 50 years... most of Bangkok will be below sea level," said Anond Snidvongs, a climate change expert at the capital's Chulalongkorn University, told AFP earlier this month.

Its a good sound idea in principle, but the massive cost of the associated infrastructure improvements, new international airport, compensation claims, legal challenges etc will ensure it never sees the light of day.