World expo bid still on track

Thailand’s bid to host World Expo 2020 remains on track despite serious flooding that has inundated most of Ayutthaya province for almost a month.

Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau president Akapol Sorasuchart gave the assurances, Monday, when asked if this year’s flooding would prompt a rethink on the venue linked to the country’s bid to host the 2020 expo.

“ We don’t think the flood will impact on our bid,” said. “The proposed expo site near the Bang Sai Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Centre has suffered little flooding.”

His statement contradicts facts on the ground. The entire area around the site it is under water and road are flooded from just north of Rangsit all the way to Ayutthaya. It is almost impossible to reach the folks and arts craft centre by car.

The most likely World Expo site covers  1,200 to 1,500 rai near the Bang Sai Royal Falk Arts and Crafts Centre.

The site is located 82 km north of Suvarnabhumi International Airport and just 42 km north of Don Mueang Airport. It lies adjacent to the river, about 5 km west of the 347 highway just north of where the 347 cuts across a major ring road linking highway 340 and highway 1 and 32.

The folk and arts craft centre is currently  marooned and is likely to remain so for another two weeks until the flood water recedes in the neighbourhood.

Mr Akapol added: “ We are keeping the International Exhibitions Bureau updated on the flood situation, and it understands what is happening here.”

The expo is usually held in the first half of the year, which is during the dry and hot seasons in Thailand. TCEB expects to host the event in Ayutthaya, 15 January to 15 June in 2020.

But to succeed in its bid, the government will need to implement a flood prevention plan over the next five years to convince the World Expo decision makers that the site will be safe from flooding.

If the site floods in the rainy season of 2019, it would not recover in time to host the event. Exhibit construction at the site would stop and based on  recovery estimates for the current floods, it could take three months to dry out and get the site back to normal.

Thousands of factories and homes are under water in the province and an estimated 300,000 people are out of work until the factories reopen. The government is estimating it will take three to six months to reopen production lines.

Infrastructure in 23 central plain provinces will need to be repaired taking months. Apart from helping people to return to their homes, the government faces the daunting task of siphoning off the water that has settled in housing and factory estates, draining paddy fields so farmers can plant a rice crop and repairing a damaged road network.

“ I think this flood is a good lesson to help us plan for the future and we have plenty of time to prepare ahead of the expo,” he said.

The lesson has been painful for around 5,000 displaced people who are being looked after an emergency centres at Don Mueang Airport, the Airports of Thailand headquarters and other centres at temples and universities.

Three rivers flow through Ayutthaya; the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pasak, all carrying an unprecedented volume of water mainly from the run-off from floods in the north and dams that were full.

Communications wise, Ayutthaya is just 75 km north of Bangkok near the main northern highway 32 and on the main rail line north. There was talk of  upgrading the rail line  for high speed trains over the next 10 years, but up until now waterway improvements were not on the agenda.

The final decision on the bid will be made by World Expositions in June 2013, which is authorised to host exhibitions for member’s countries of the Bureau of International Exhibitions.

The world expo committee in Thailand will need to provide assurances that projects outlined by the Royal Irrigation Department to tackle flooding will be implemented. The projects will cost Bt10 billion and take five years to complete.

Once they are in place, the threat of flooding to towns north of Bangkok should deminish.

The World Expo is regarded as the third most significant global event in terms of its economic and cultural impact after Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup.

Source - ttrweekly