The Thai premier on Monday said
reconstruction from massive floods swamping vast swathes of the country is
expected to cost the government over $3.3 billion -- a fifth more than
previously estimated.
Fears for the capital Bangkok appeared to have eased as
authorities battled to contain Thailand's worst flooding in decades, which has
claimed over 300 lives, swallowed homes and shut down industry.
But Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra warned: "The
original budget to support the recovery of both the industrial and agricultural
sectors is not likely to be enough."
Speaking at the disaster response headquarters at Don Muang
Airport in northern Bangkok, she said the budget, which does not include water
management costs, was now expected to exceed 100 billion baht ($3.3 billion).
The previous budget was $2.6 billion.
Three months of heavy rains have deluged about one third of
Thailand's provinces, with floods -- several metres deep in places -- forcing
tens of thousands of people to seek refuge in shelters.
The flooding has waterlogged major roads and hundreds of
factories, disrupting production of cars, electronics and other goods in the
kingdom, with another major industrial estate succumbing to the floods on
Monday.
Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said the floods
across the country were likely to cut economic growth this year by up to 1.7
percent, according to estimates from the Bank of Thailand and the National
Economic and Social Development Board.
The previous estimate was 0.9 percent.
Forecasters at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
have estimated the cost of the floods to the Thai economy at about 150 billion
baht ($4.9 billion) -- roughly 1.3-1.5 percent of annual gross domestic
product.
Thailand on Monday gave the go ahead to a hefty minimum wage
hike, Labour Minister Phadermchai Sasomsab told AFP, although it postponed the
measure until April 2012 in response to pleas from the flood-hit industrial
sector.
Yingluck apologised for authorities' inability to protect
Navanakorn industrial estate after water overwhelmed defences at the site,
which houses over 200 factories for local and foreign firms and employs nearly
200,000.
Hundreds of locals helped soldiers trying to protect the
estate -- Thailand's oldest -- with sandbags but were told to evacuate as water
began pouring into the area in Pathum Thani province, located near Bangkok.
One factory worker told AFP that the area was flooded
"in just a few minutes".
"I thought this estate could hold out against the water
so I helped in another place... then I heard about evacuation here so I ran
back to pick my motorcycle," another worker, Sopha Srisan, said.
Flood Relief Operation Command (FROC) said there was up to 2
metres of water in some areas of Navanakorn but expressed continued confidence
that the capital would be spared.
A spokesman said the Thai premier had ordered a third
protection dyke, to be built Monday night, in the northern outskirts of the
capital "to assure Bangkokians".
Authorities have so far prevented major flooding inside the
capital by diverting water through a complex system of rivers and canals around
the city.
Conditions in Bangkok remained mostly normal and Suvarnabhumi
Airport -- the capital's main air hub, which has flood walls several metres
high -- was operating as usual.
The Thai Air Force said it was moving 20 of it's 30 planes
out of Don Muang Airport as a precaution.
Yingluck has asked the military to take charge of the
emergency response in five provinces, including the low-lying historic city of
Ayutthaya, which has been under water for over a week.
Thai authorities said water levels were receding in
Ayutthaya, which lies about 80 kilometres (50 miles) upriver from Bangkok and
has seen its ancient World Heritage temples and all five of its industrial
estates swamped.
Some automakers, including Toyota, have halted production in
the kingdom due to water damage to facilities or a shortage of components.
Source : AFP
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