Officials gather around the new equipment.
Patcharapol Panrak
Integrated Refinery & Petrochemical Complex Co. in
Rayong has opened a 24-hour service center to dispatch heavy equipment
to disaster scenes in the Eastern Seaboard.
IRPC, under fire from Rayong residents over its
planned 200 million baht expansion plans, opened the 50 million baht
center “as a show of concern, sharing and return of profits” to Rayong
citizens to help overcome problems associated with flooding, road
repairs, drought and water drainage.
“With the increasing number of disasters, government
cannot be solely relied on. All sectors must cooperate to bring in
equipment during such times,” said Prasert Bumsamphun, chairman of
petroleum company PTT Co., which is working with IRPC on the center. He
said the equipment available can be used for digging canals, repairing
roads and digging reservoirs to handle flood waters.
IRPC Assistant Director Phothiwat Phaopongchuang has
worked for three years with the local community on use of raw materials,
mechanical equipment and manpower during floods and droughts. He said
the company has gotten a strong positive response from the community,
which has expressed its desire to work alongside the company.
IRPC President Pairin Chuchotithaworn said the Center
for Heavy Equipment will offer the community two backhoes, a loader, a
plow truck, water truck, four 10-wheeled trucks and a trailer. More
equipment will be added over time, he said.
