Thai Court Rules Stalled Industrial Projects Can Proceed; Environmentalists Plan Appeal

摘要

Thailand's Central Administrative Court ruled Sept. 2 that construction may proceed on all but two of 76 projects worth nearly $10 billion in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate, ending a months-long suspension.rnThe court ruling comes after a newly formed independent body specified what types of projects should be required to conduct health and environmental impact assessments before they may begin construction.rnThe ruling was welcomed in Thailand's business community. In previous months, the situation at Map Ta Phut-and speculation about future enforcement of the country's environmental laws-had prompted foreign business groups to warn that they would invest elsewhere if the issue was not resolved quickly (33 INER 236, 3/3/10).