SONGKHLA, Thailand – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn chaired a meeting in Songkhla province on July 3, 2026, to follow up on flood prevention and water management for Hat Yai district and other affected areas. The meeting focused on urgent, medium-term, and long-term measures to reduce flood risks, restore economic confidence, and improve public safety. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul assigned the Deputy Prime Minister to chair the meeting with provincial authorities, security agencies, public agencies, local administrative bodies, and private-sector representatives. Agencies reported on weather and water conditions, disaster preparedness, public health readiness, financial relief, border trade, tourism, and local flood prevention operations.
The Songkhla Chamber of Commerce stated that Hat Yai remains at risk, with the monsoon season less than 100 days away. The major flood in late 2025 caused more than 87.8 billion baht in damage, affected over 107,000 people, reduced tourist arrivals by more than 55%, and weakened investor and business confidence. This was partly due to concerns over insurance coverage and the lack of a clear water management plan. The private sector proposed three key measures: arranging a prime ministerial field visit, establishing a policy-level command center chaired by a deputy prime minister, and urgently approving pending flood prevention budgets. These include a 99.5-million-baht central budget for immediate canal dredging, drainage repairs, pumping equipment, boats, machinery, and essential tools, as well as more than 1.174 billion baht in short-term irrigation projects.
The Deputy Prime Minister instructed Songkhla province to compile and submit project proposals from relevant agencies to the government within two weeks. He also called for urgent drainage repairs, canal dredging, removal of waterway obstructions, and long-term studies on a water-diversion tunnel to the Gulf of Thailand and a ring road with drainage canals around Hat Yai. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need for continuous monitoring to ensure tangible results, enhance public safety, and rebuild investor confidence in the southern economic hub. (NNT)
