Industrial Minister Visits Flood-Hit Amata City, Urges Rapid Aid
Industrial Minister Warawut Silpa-archa visited the flood‑affected Amata City Industrial Estate in Chonburi, urging authorities to double pumping capacity and implement stronger flood defenses. He set a two‑week deadline to submit a relief package to the Cabinet and ordered nationwide factory inspections to prevent future damage. The minister also pledged cross‑ministry cooperation to deliver tax, financing, and worker support within one month.
Warawut said he had ordered the Industrial Estate Authority to gather factory owners’ proposals and present them to the Cabinet within one to two weeks. He noted that the Prime Minister and the Interior Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, are deeply concerned about the entrepreneurs’ plight. He also urged the estate management to double its water‑pumping capacity from 20,000 to 40,000 cubic meters per hour to cope with rainfall that has doubled, and stressed the need to build flood barriers, install 24‑hour warning systems, and use sandbags to seal seepage points and concrete cracks—measures that have proven effective in past flood responses.
The minister instructed officials to inspect all factories nationwide, both small and medium enterprises and large firms, to establish a standard assistance package and prevent repeat incidents in line with the Prime Minister’s policy. He emphasized that the Ministry of Industry is not there to make excuses but to listen and coordinate across all dimensions to avoid a recurrence.
Furthermore, Warawut directed the IEA and all industrial estates to raise their worst‑case scenario estimates, prepare for climate change, and set aside future water reserves in anticipation of super El Niño and La Niña effects. He also ordered training for entrepreneurs on proper sandbagging and appropriate pumping rates for each area.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry is accelerating cooperation with other ministries to deliver relief measures within one month. These include tax incentives and machinery repair assistance together with the Board of Investment, low‑interest financing for SMEs via the SME Development Bank, facilitation of goods transport and shipping with the Transport Ministry, oversight of insurance premiums and expedited claims with the Commerce Ministry, and support for workers whose factories must temporarily shut for rehabilitation from the end of the month through December.
IEA Governor Somet Tangprasert said the flooding had affected 185 entrepreneurs across eight industrial sectors, and added that the authority’s current mission is not only to resolve the situation quickly but also to assist, relieve, and rehabilitate those businesses.
