The call came at a meeting of the Commission for the Management of Land Traffic held in Nai Yang yesterday (Mar 26) to garner feedback for land transport infrastructure needs for the four Andaman coast provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong.
Present at the meeting were Commission Chairman Lt Gen Jareasakanee Anupaph, Vice Chairman of the 1st Committee Wanchai Sarattultut, Vice Chairman of the 2nd Committee Admiral Yutthana Fakpholgnarn, and Vice Governors from Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong.
Among the others present were officials from the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, local administrations and relevant government agencies in Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and Ranong.
Regarding the state of Route 402, Governor Norraphat said, “The problem is that the road surface has not been upgraded since 1997, while the proportion of vehicles has increased, which increases the risk of accidents, especially on steep slopes.
“I ask the Commission for help to accelerate the implementation of two projects, including urging the Department of Highways to allocate a budget to improve Route 402 to ease traffic on the highway.
“Also, I ask to expedite the process of getting the Department of Highways to consider the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) for the Sakhu-Koh Kaew expressway as soon as possible.
“In addition, please consider for the Harbor Department to set up a budget to research and find places to build more ship harbors to support Phuket as a world-class tourist attraction,” Governor Norraphat added.
Commission Chairman Gen Jaresakanee welcomed the feedback and explained that the meeting was held in light of requests from “the private sector” to support the growth of tourism in Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Ranong as well Satun.
“We have to go to the areas to listen to the problems of the local people. I have invited the central government to listen to the issues raised from all these areas simultaneously, because many of the problems cannot be resolved by only one department. They must be considered in the big picture,” he said.
“For the development of the Southern Andaman Coastal Plan 2018, the Commission is holding this meeting to acknowledge barriers to implementing developments for infrastructure and transport. This will be discussed between the public sector and the private sector to understand what the private sector needs.
“Problems will be summarised and will be reported to the National Legislative Assembly and then conclusions will then be reported to the central government,” he said.