Thailand

Support for the Urban Poor (SUP) has prepared a simple policy framework because details and scope of the sub-project activities to be covered by the grant are not known... Show More + in detail at this stage since the project follows a Community Driven Development (CDD) approach. The framework will guide the process of land acquisition, should it prove necessary during implementation of the grant activities. The guiding principle of the framework is that no family will experience a material reduction in their income, living standards, or livelihoods as a result of subproject implementation. A summary of the procedures will be spelled out in the project's Operations Manual and the terms of reference of community facilitators, and the project will provide both internal and independent monitoring of their implementation. If no agreement can be reached with the community the sub-project activities will not be implemented; (i) for voluntary contributions, the name of the donor and details of the donation; (ii) for compensated assets, the names of the persons receiving compensation, and details of the type of compensation, such as seen in the table below;(iii) if applicable the decision not to proceed with sub-project implementation.(iv) in addition, the minutes will contain the signatures of the affected persons and the community leaders. There will be notes about complaints made by the affected Show Less -

The objectives of the Public Sector Reform Development Policy Loan (PSRDPL) are to assist the Royal Thai Government (RTG) in its response to the financial crisis and... Show More + to support institutional development in the public sector by: 1) improving the effectiveness of the public financial management framework through better governance and accountability; 2) enhancing the skills and performance of the civil service; and 3) improving quality and timeliness of service delivery. The closing date for the project will be extended from December 31, 2012 until June 30, 2013. The RTG has so far withdrawn USD100 million and intends to withdraw the remaining USD900 million in support of the implementation of their FY2013 budget; in particular, the extension will enable the withdrawals to be more aligned with the implementation of the RTG's investment plans for FY2013 (October 2012-September 2013) which will mostly be in the first half of 2013. The extension will also be helpful in lowering the cost of swapping the PSRDPL proceeds from US dollars to Thai Baht for the RTG. The baht swap market is quite thin and is therefore volatile. The extension of the PSRDPL closing date to June 2013 will make it difficult for speculative investors to predict when the Ministry of Finance (MOF) will make the swaps and how much each time. The extension will also allow the MOF to make swaps in smaller amounts at a time - which will not swing the swap market by too much which is undesirable by (and may hurt) other non-speculative clients in the swap market (e.g. exporters). This will be the second extension of the project, and a cumulative extension of nine months. Show Less -

The objective of the Additional Financing for the Highways Management Project for Thailand is to enhance the existing network highway capacity, which consequently results... Show More + in road safety improvement and economic growth stimulation. Some of the negative impacts and their mitigation measures of the project are as follows: 1) shop owners will be assisted in dismantling and rebuilding their shops in a new location to be prepared by Department of Highway (DOH) outside the right of way (ROW), under this arrangement, the shop owners will not experience any stoppage in their operation, thereby averting impact on the affected people's livelihood. It is estimated that the replacement cost for mobile shop is 6,590 baht and the immobile shop is 9,660 baht; 2) all of the farmers will be informed before the planting seasons so that the negative impacts to the farmers can be avoided further more; 3) affected people will be fully consulted and given the opportunity to participate in matters that will have adverse impacts on their living during the implementation of the project; 4) existing cultural and religious shall be respected and, to the extent possible preserved; 5) appropriate monitoring mechanism will be identified; and 6) the summary of resettlement mitigation plan will be translated in Thai and placed in sub-district and village offices for the information of affected people and other interested groups. Show Less -

The EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand) Investment Program Support Project will finance investments for power generation and transmission facilities.... Show More + These environmental impact assessments cover the subprojects -- a) Ractchaburi Power Plant; b) Krabi Thermal Power Plant; c) Wang Noi Combined Cycle Power Plant Project; and d) the transmission systems. A resettlement plan has been prepared for the households affected. In terms of air quality, the impact of dust during construction will be mitigated by water sprays. Emissions from construction equipment and vehicular transportation will be controlled by reducing vehicular speed. Sulfur Dioxide will be controlled by an 80 percent efficient Flue Gas Desulfurization System (FGD). Major construction activities will be conducted in dry seasons to reduce siltation to the nearby rivers. Water quality affected by suspended solid in the nearby river will be improved by constructing temporary weir to trap sediment. Salt water intrusion into the groundwater will be mitigated by controlling the discharge rate and exploring other water resources. Noise pollution will be minimized by using noise control equipment, creating noise barriers, and publicizing the time for blasting. The threat of thermal pollution to aquatic life will be mitigated by building a water reservoir to reduce water temperature before it is discharged into the river. Wastewater will be pretreated before it is discharged into the water way. A screening structure will be placed at the inlet of the intake pipe at the water intake pump station so that young fish, fish eggs, and floating weeds will not be pumped into the intake. Show Less -