Map Ta Phut injunction
Ruling could hurt economic growth
A year-long court-ordered suspension of investment projects by PTT and other state enterprises could slice 0.4 percentage points off economic growth next year, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said yesterday.
The economic impact of the long-running environmental dispute between heavy industry and communities around the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate could be considerable, Korn said during a videoconference from Turkey.
Last Tuesday, the Central Administrative Court issued an injunction against 76 industrial projects worth Bt400 billion in Map Ta Phut and surrounding areas in Rayong.
The government has appealed the court ruling.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also expressed concern that foreign investors could be driven away and locate their plants in neighbouring countries like Vietnam, due to environmental and regulatory issues.
Korn, who is attending the twin annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Istanbul, said PTT and other state enterprises planned to spend Bt240 billion in 2010 and 2011 under the government’s second stimulus package. These projects could be further delayed, because they are related to the 76 projects halted by the court.
Of these investment plans, PTT, the country’s largest energy conglomerate, alone will pour Bt100 billion into Map Ta Phut.
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