The public meeting, chaired by Phuket City Deputy Mayor Orapailin Trakulpriphon, was held at the meeting room of the Phuket Provincial Waste Disposal Center at Saphan Hin yesterday (Mar 27).
At the meeting, it was explained that the proposal was for a private firm, namely EA Waste Management Phuket Co Ltd, to build and operate the facility.
Pantip Chatrangsan, Business Development Manager of EA Waste Management Phuket Co Ltd, was present to explain the firm’s proposed role.
The new facility, to cover about 14 rai at the site, is to have the capacity to dispose of no less than 500 tons of solid waste a day, while producing 9.9 megawatts of electrical power, Ms Pantip said.
An initial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) assessment has been carried out, but a complete EIA will be prepared to present to the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), Deputy Mayor Ms Orapailin noted.
“The problem of overflowing garbage in the city is an important problem that requires all sectors to participate in management,” Ms Onpailin said.
“This stage is to listen to opinions from the public, who are considered to be a driving force to develop efficient solid waste management in Phuket Province,” she added.
“This event creates knowledge and understanding of development according to environmental measures, and shows that Phuket City Municipality gives importance to reducing the impact [of such projects] on people and the environment in a sustainable way,” she said.
Despite several reports of the meeting being distributed through government news channels, including national state news agencey NNT, none of the official reports noted how much the proposed new incerator is to cost, or how much the feasbility studies already conducted so far have already cost.