Thailand plans to build a new NIMBY coal-fired power plant in Pailin ... more land evictions ahead in Pailin?

D1 heads power plant investors

Wednesday March 12, 2008
NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE
Bangkok Post

"NIMBY is an acronym for Not In My Back Yard. The term is used to describe opposition to a new project by residents, even if they themselves and those around will benefit from the construction. Often, the new project being opposed is generally considered a benefit for many, but residents nearby the immediate location consider it undesirable and would generally prefer the building to be "elsewhere".

Projects likely to be opposed include: incinerators, power plants, and prisons, but far more commonly the concept is associated with obstruction and objections to transportation improvements and mobile telephone network masts." - Wikipedia

A coalition led by Dragon One Plc (D1), 124 Communication and foreign investors expects to generate returns of seven billion baht over the next two years from its new coal-fired power plant in Pailin, Cambodia. Jrarat Pingclasai, the D1 chief executive, said the project, worth around $500 million or 20 billion baht, would produce 350 megawatts of coal-fired power.

D1 and 124 will take 20% each in the project, with the remaining 60% held by an international energy company.

The initial investment if the project is 2.8 billion baht, with revenues expected at seven billion baht per year. Power will be sold to the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand under a 25-year contract.

Mr Jrarat said the Cambodian government would offer the consortium a 99-year lease for the project at a relatively low cost.

D1 will invest in the project through its new Dragon Power subsidiary. Mr Jrarat said D1 expected to receive steady revenues of 1.4 billion baht per year from the project.

He said D1 was also studying the possibility of setting up an industrial business zone in Pailin on some of the 10,000 rai of land to be leased from the Cambodian government for the power plant.

''Thai manufacturers who are looking to shift production plants to other countries should consider the Dragon Pailin [industrial zone] project, given that it is only 300 kilometres from Bangkok,'' Mr Jrarat said.

''The Cambodian government also currently offers better options for foreign investment than the Thai Board of Investment.''

Mr Jrarat said Dragon Pailin would require an initial investment of 500 million baht, and would leverage infrastructure to be built to support the Dragon Power plant.

Revenues could reach 10 billion baht per year for the industrial zone project within three years.

Mr Jrarat said that for holding company D1, revenues by 2010 would come equally from three segments: Dragon Power, Dragon Pailin and IT services.

D1 is projecting investment this year of 200 million baht, to be financed from rights offerings and warrants. Mr Jrarat is the largest single shareholder at 18%.

The company reported 2007 net losses of 138 million baht on revenues of 430.77 million, down from profits of 59.84 million on revenues of 667.13 million the year before.

Shares of D1 closed yesterday on the SET at 0.68 baht, down three satang, in trade worth 4.63 million baht.

Countering the 'Nimby' syndrome

Wednesday January 02, 2008
BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA
Bangkok Post

Be it a dam, a gas pipeline, a power plant or any industrial scheme, they invariably have to run the gauntlet of opponents, householders, self-styled activists or environmentalists.

The not-in-my-backyard ("Nimby") phenomenon is alive and kicking, not only in other parts of the world but right here in Thailand. The growing Nimby syndrome is threatening many vital projects such as infrastructure development, which have important ramifications for the Thai economy and national growth as well as security.

This rising trend is leading to severe consequences, not only for project sponsors but also for the nation as a whole. Project supporters are rarely as outspoken or effective as their professional, full-time counterparts who will stop at nothing to advance their cause. Opponents continue to expect cheap electricity 24 hours a day at the touch of a switch, but are against the construction of new power plants.

The growing opposition to infrastructure projects raises big questions about which is more important: the common good or individual rights?

That issue is debatable. But it may be worth pointing to the French example where the common good is held as sufficient reason to endure big development projects.

In a democratic society like ours, it is alright to hold protests against projects like gas pipelines or coal-fired power plants, but such acts should be based on a well-informed and logically sound background rather than on myth, misinformation and sheer emotion.

In many cases, opponents sometimes distorted facts in a campaign to increase public anxiety and generate fierce opposition.

Remember all the predicted "disasters" to the environment, society and safety which opponents vigorously hurled against the 260km Burmese gas pipeline in Kanchanaburi? It has been a decade now and the pipeline continues to deliver natural gas from the Yadana and Yetagun fields in Burma's Gulf of Martaban, to Thailand. The operation has been running smoothly.

The Thai-Burma pipeline provides 20% of all natural gas supplies which Thailand needs, especially for power generation. But it has not really contributed to higher electricity and gas bills as accused at the time.

The pipeline will continue to offer a sizeable amount of such vital fuel for Thailand for another two decades, providing secured energy supplies for the country.

The ongoing protest against the plan to build new coal-fired power plants in Thailand may illustrate another example of the lack of information and the negative perception of an alternative source of power supply for Thailand, which is too dependent on natural gas, at 70% of total generation.

Many opponents are still wary about the pollution risks caused by the lignite-fired Mae Moh power plant in Lampang 10 years ago, rejecting the fact that mitigation measures and clean coal technology that greatly minimises pollutants, are available.

Comprehensive air pollution mitigation measures - including the 7.1-billion-baht installation of flue gas desulphurisation units for the 10 generators at the 2,400-MW Mae Moh facility which can absorb more than 90% of sulphur dioxide (SO2) derived from the combustion before it goes into the air - have worked effectively.

That has resulted in the air around Mae Moh becoming much cleaner than Bangkok when measured with SO2 content - an annual average of 2 microgrammes/cubic metre at Mae Moh, compared to 5 in Bangkok.

The prolonged protests in Prachuap Khiri Khan which led to the demise of Union Power Development Co's 1,400 MW coal-fired scheme and Gulf Power Generation's 734-MW facility, also fuelled by imported coal, have kept the anti-coal momentum alive.

The Nimby sentiment is dangerously driving Thailand towards dependence on imported energy in the form of gas and power, from countries like Burma, Laos, Indonesia and even Cambodia. A greater sense of the common good, reason, understanding and acceptance are perhaps what some opponents need in order to allow schemes which serve the national interest to proceed.

More public education is one way for policy-makers to address the Nimby epidemic.

Boonsong Kositchotethana is Deputy Assignment Editor (Business), Bangkok Post.