Thai industry minister Wanrat Channukun said on Friday the government eyes newly developing industrial park in Kanchanaburi for site of pending integrated steel plant. The plan is to utilize large port to be constructed in Tavoy in Myanmar. Mr. Wanrat said the government tries to decide the project at the cabinet as soon as possible while the decision schedule is not decided.
The project was planned in southeastern part of Thailand with major plants of automobile. However, the government failed to step forward for the project at the location due to environmental issue and change of administration. Mr. Wanrat said to reporters planned Tavoy port has 10 times of space compared with Map Ta Phut port in southeast part of Thailand. He emphasized deep water Tavoy port 200 kilometers away from Bangkok is convenient for the shipment. He said Myanmar is also positive for the cooperation. Officials from Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Thai government visited Tavoy to check the situation. Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand (ISIT) submitted report of the project’s feasibility study results to the cabinet’s consultative panel. The panel reviews the report. The report is based on southeastern Thailand of Chanthaburi and southern Thailand of Songkran. Mr. Wanrat said the site selection takes time due to anticipated strong opposite by nongovernmental organizations. The selection could also take time even when the government would offer Kanchanaburi site due to additional research in environmental and health impact. Mr. Wanrat said the government should be cautious for the selection through close dialogue with communities.