Announcement of Thailand Port Studies on July 18, 1961

HOLD. FOR RELEASE WORLD BANK • 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON 25, D. C. TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 For Release to .AJ.vI newspapers Tuesday, July 18, 1961 SUBJECT: Thailand Port Studies The United Nations Special Fund, the Government of Thailand and the World Bank have signed an agreement providing for a detailed study of the problem of siltation at the Port of Bangkok and for a study of the economic fea:~ibility of building an alternative port at Sriracha. The project was approved by the Special Fund in December 1960, and the Special Fund has allocated $1,000,000 toward the cost. The remaining costs, equivalent to about $268,000 for the siltation study and a smaller sum yet to be determined for • the alternative port study, will be borne by the Government of Thailand • The World Bank will act as Executing Agency for the studies, having general responsibility for execution of the project including disbtU'sement of the money made available by the Special Fund. The Government of Thailand has retained the services of the Netherlands Engineering Consultants (NEDECO) to carry out the studies • The work will bei completed in 196.5. Access to the Port of Bangkok is hampered by a large sandbar at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. Constant dredging is required to maintain a channel of adequate depth through the bar to permit ocean-going vessels to enter the Port. Dredging '11.vw costs the Government the equivalent of $1!~~2 million annually. The purpose of' the study is to determine the best solution to the siltation problem with a view to reducing dredging costs. The study will include a hydrographical and hydrological si-ba survey and investigation and a field laboratory study of the estuary of the • Chao Phraya River, including observations of tides, waves, currents, salinity, tan~perature, silt content and analysis, processes of siltation and scour and subsoil analysis; and, based on these findings, the construction of a large scale model of the Chao Phraya estuary in a hydraulic laboratory. The second study will involve ar.t eYaluation of the economic costs and benefits of buildi-ng an alternative deep-wa-i:ier ,. ,,,,,~,, •: ,,. , ,,.;:t"'-''•'-"" ~' .,;:. port at, Sriracha on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand. ,\r:,-,'t.,~.1•.•t~~i•,"'c ,;.t~. ,,'( ,,;.~, ,.-,, - ,;, "" .<. ,•- '-• •• t '!_ ., h•.· •,.-.:·• •• './< ,,. • >" ··• • ,1,.•·,1;,~ ,,..- ,-,~,; .,.,,-~,.-·,,.;,/.~-..,~ '"-' '<"'.~ l,- •,~. ·• ,. • • .-. -., ,,,~ , •.. ,.,, •-<•,.•••, . ><HW'.,'-,-. _,,«.•,.,..._,,,?,!~ "', •. , .,.' > •~,I• ,,,.,, •• ""'>' -a>s,v.•·~, .- ",C• ~ ••' .;-. - ' . - '-, •• >'- ~' ' • ••·-.. ,,,,_., •.•>'-",-'I ,r .c._..,,._.~ -~· , '-· .,_-. ,,.,,-~,.o.a,,,.;;,c' <s: "'"" •''-~ ·,C- · ", .,., .•