Asia Watch Bangkok’s infrastructure woes: It’s all about money and politics either remain in the city or are By Michael J. Ranieri Last month I wrote about channeled back into it, not the dreadful traffic conditions enough money will be spent in Bangkok, Thailand’s capital on improving Bangkok’s creaky city. There are far too many infrastructure by fixing roads, cars clogging the limited num- sewers, and expanding the pubber of roads. This city of 10 lic transportation system. It is hard to imagmillion people now ine that this sprawlhas an elevated rail ing city has a budget line called the sky of only $2 billion, of train, and an underwhich only one-sixth ground subway sysof that is set aside for tem, and yet it still capital investment suffers from chronic like expanding the and crippling traffic rail line or the subcongestion. ways. The rest barely Despite opinion covers running costs. polls which show Michael Ranieri There is another that Bangkok residents are very concerned about problem – politics. The govworsening traffic and air pollu- ernor is a member of the main tion – a by-product of all the national opposition party, the trucks, tractors, buses, motor- Democratic Party. The scuttlebikes, sedans and auto rick- butt in Thailand is that the censhaws (tuk-tuks) which cram tral government, headed by the the city streets – the situation Prime Minister, Mrs. Yingluck is not expected to get better any Shinawatra, who is a member of the Pheu Thai Party, is not time soon. Why not? According to the governor likely to cede much power and (equivalent of a mayor) of financial support to her rival in Bangkok, Mr. Sukhumbhand, Bangkok at the expense of other too much of Bangkok’s wealth parts of the country that are goes into the coffers of the more supportive of Pheu Thai. Exacerbating traffic condinational government. Until more of Bangkok’s tax dollars tions is Bangkok’s propensity
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to flood due to large upstream runoff, heavy local rainfall and the tidal effect. The flooding gets so bad at times that the only way to get around the city is by rowboat. If you happen to be in a car when the rain starts falling it may take you an hour or more to go from one city block to another. Over the years the city government has built flood storage facilities, a dike system and pumping stations but heavy downpours continue to overwhelm drainage systems. A geologist who I met on our recent cruise to South East Asia remarked that situating the densely populated capital city of Bangkok in the Chao Phraya River delta in the country’s central plains was, in his words, a “huge mistake.” The area is too flat and low-lying, with an average elevation of about 5 feet above sea level. He agrees with many experts that the city may be submerged by 2030. Back in the 19th century Bangkok was known as the
“Venice of the East” because most of the people lived on or near the Chao Phraya River that flows through the city and used this waterway as the primary mode of transport. They benefited by the construction of canals (klongs) that jutted out from the river and crisscrossed the city providing shortcuts around what was essentially swampland. At the same time, these canals served an important function. They acted as drainage channels during the rainy season. All was well until modern roads began to be built and the canals were filled in or paved over. When this happened there was nowhere for the water to go and, over time, many of the canals that remained became polluted. I’m told that the Bangkok city government is making some progress in its ground water pumping techniques and they may have found a way to lessen the severity of the next heavy rain storm. But no one I have
talked to recently will say that flooding is a thing of the past. Whether it’s easing traffic congestion or tackling the issue of flood control the authorities must get over their political differences and figure out how the city could be better managed. To give you some idea of the severity of the problem, it is estimated that more than $1 billion in productivity is lost every year to traffic jams in the city. If national politicians truly care about their capital city, which is the financial and cultural center of Thailand, they must spend more money fixing Bangkok’s infrastructure, otherwise the problems will continue. Sunriver resident Michael Ranieri served as a lecturer on a recent Azamara 17-day cruise from Hong Kong to Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. He lived in Taiwan, Bangkok and Hong Kong for 25 years while working in the banking industry. He holds a master’s degree in Chinese studies and speaks Mandarin.
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