Floodways key to keeping capital safe NEXT CITY PLAN CREATES DRAINAGE ZONES IN EAST, WEST

The planned designation of floodway zones in eastern and western Bangkok will help safeguard the capital from any major deluge in the future, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says.

Bangkok's city plan expires this year. City Hall is in the process of getting ready to declare a new plan and has conducted three rounds of public hearings.

A key feature is the creation of floodway zones in two parts of the city, where development will be limited. The main focus will be on making use of that land as a drainage area, which should ensure speedy drainage of floodwater through those areas to the sea.

After consultations are completed, City Hall will revise the draft and put it up for 90-day public review.

The new Bangkok city plan is expected to go into effect next year.

Under the draft plan, which has been posted for public review on the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) website, parts of Khlong Sam Wa and Min Buri districts have been declared areas to be preserved for water drainage.

On the western side, some parts of Taling Chan and Bang Kae districts have also been designated as water drainage zones.

Khunpol Prompaet, deputy director of the City Planning Department, said eastern Bangkok's location makes it suitable to be used as a floodway to quickly drain water out to the sea.

Many new communities and structures have been established in the area. While the plan can do nothing about buildings already there, the zones will control future development in those areas, ensuring buildings will not hamper the flow of water into the sea, Mr Khunpol said.

He said Bangkok grows horizontally rather than vertically, leading to high demand for land.

"We will limit the city's fatness. This means we will limit horizontal growth and promote vertical growth so we can preserve what vacant space there is for floodways," he said.

Under the city plan, the eastern part of Bangkok would become less dense with more vertical housing projects, such as condominiums, than horizontal ones.

Certain areas would be designated as water drainage routes.

The western part of the capital would largely remain a green area designated for agricultural purposes with vertical communities located along the electric train lines, he said.