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Thailand: Bor Nok Coal Plant FAQ

March 5, 2002 Mekong Watch Japan Fact Sheet

Bor Nok Coal-Fired Power Plant Project, Thailand and
Japan Bank for International Corporation's (JBIC) Involvement

1. What is Bor Nok Coal-Fired Power Plant Project?

Bor Nok Coal-Fired Power Plant has been planned to be constructed in Bor Nok Sub-District, Muang District, Prachuab Kiri Khan Provicne in Thailand. The developer is Gulf Power Generation Co. Ltd. The shareholders of Gulf Power Generation are Gulf Electric Co. Ltd. (60%) and USA-based Edison Mission Energy Co. Ltd. (40%). 49% of the Gulf Electric share is in turn owned by Japan's Power Generation Development Corporation (PGDC).

If completed, the Bor Nok power plant is expected to generate 1,468 mega watt of electricity. This electricity will be sold to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) in four different phases. Phase I was set to start in April 2002 with 367 mega watt of electricity and Phase II in October 2002 with 367 mega watt. Dates for the other two phases have never been decided. However, due to the project delay, the time for the Bor Nok plant to start generating electricity, as estimated now, is after 2005. A power purchase agreement (PPA) was signed in 1997.

The total cost for the project is 820 million US$. The US Export-Import Bank was once reported to have interest in investing the project. However, the US bank has not officially considered the project as an investment target after February 2000. Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) and The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of Japan may consider the project as a target for financing through Export Finance and Trade Insurance respectively.

2. What are Problems and Concerns?

a) Opposing villagers have been excluded from decision-making processes. Public hearings were held without the attendance of protesting villagers or the members of the Bor Nok Sub-District Administration Organization.
b) Massive hot water, after used as coolant, will be discharged into the sea, resulting in negative impact on the ecology, especially fisheries in the bay area.
c) The water discharge will negatively affect whales, dolphins, and rare water birds.
d) A planned off-shore pier to unload coal will obstruct fish migration as well as fishing activities conducted by local fisher folks. The construction itself will damage the environment in the area, for it involves such activities as salvaging the sea bottom to enable large ships to navigate.
e) The near-by Sam Roi Yot National Part, known for its huge world-class wetland, will be adversely affected, especially in terms of its biodiversity.
f) The project will damage the local communities' means of livelihood, in particular small-scale fishing and agriculture.
g) Dust particles emitted from the power plant will cause air pollution and health problems among villagers.
h) The plant will emit massive amount of greenhouse effect gas, including carbon dioxide.
i) The project may lead to an electricity price hike, given the current excessive electricity reserve (about 30-40%) in Thailand.
j) EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) is with a number of flaws (See below).
k) Members in the Senate Committee on Science went on a research trip to learn about coal-fired power plans. But irregularities have been claimed about the funding source of the trip.
l) Conflicts in the local communities have been intensified due to vested interests involved in the project. Establishment of a compensation fund without a local consent further complicated the problem.

3. What Are Some of the Flaws in the EIA?

a) The EIA only briefly mentions a wetland in the near-by Sam Roi Yot National Park. It has not sufficiently researched bird species and the intricate ecology of the wetland. EIA even claims that acid rain will not be a problem for it will "neutralize" the alkali-rich wetland water. Academics who researched the wetland water have reported that it is in fact slightly acid.
b) EIA misses whales and dolphins.
c) EIA underestimates water resources for local fishing activities.

4. Local and National Opposition

a) The great majority of the Bor Nok Sub-District Administration Organization (SAO) members are against the power plant project. SAO has passed a resolution to oppose the project.
b) SAO has also refused a compensation scheme proposed by Gulf Power Co. Ltd.
c) Gulf Power Co. Ltd has been requested to return a 900-rai public land to the Sub-District.
d) In August 2001 SAO rejected the license application submitted by Gulf Power Co. Ltd. over the use of a 10-rai public land.
e) The Students Federation of Thailand demanded full disclosure of the power purchasing contract.
f) At the time of Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro's visit to Thailand, Bor Nok villagers joined Ban Krut villagers and rallied in front of the Government House, demanding Prime Minister Koizumi not to be involved in the two projects.
g) A January 2002 poll conducted by an Assumption University research institute showed that 53.4% of the respondents supported the villagers' anti-power plant movement (12.4% did not support the movement).
h) More than 500 academics nation-wide signed a petition, demanding the Government to scrap the Hin Krut and the Bor Bok projects.
i) On January 24 2002 thousands of people gathered at Bor Bok to express their concerns over the power plant project to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who came to visit the village.

For further information, contact:

Mekong Watch-Japan (Mr. Matsumoto, Satoru and/or Mr. Fukuda, Kenji)
5 Fl. Maruko Building, 1-20-6 Higashi-Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan 1108605
Tel: 81-3-3832-5034, Fax: 81-3-5818-0520
E-mail: mekong-w@co.xdsl.ne.jp
Website: http://www.jca.apc.org/mekongwatch/
In Thailand (Mr. Doi, Toshiyuki)
Mobile phone: 090-502-4963
E-mail: toshi-doi@mtd.biglobe.ne.jp