Construction work is slated to begin in the first quarter of next year.Relevant agencies and environmental experts fear the project would change the river forever.According to the KMITL design, the promenade will be almost entirely built over the river. The promenade will be seven to ten metres wide and will have twin round concrete poles with an 80-centimetres radius every 18 to 19 metres.Critics fear that the large structure over the water could block the current flow, obstruct navigation, and pollute the river.

However, KMITL has claimed the structure would not have a significant effect on river flow or transportation on the river.Royal Irrigation Department (RID) director-general Suthep Noipairoj said the department had representatives who worked with the KMITL study team and suggested how design of the promenade could avoid an impact on river drainage.

“As of now I think the promenade plan will not slow down the drainage capacity of the river, otherwise it would cause flooding,” Suthep said.”[However] a structure on the river will more or less have an impact on the river, so we have to make sure that the construction will be as planned and it will not slow down water drainage.

” Marine Department Engineering Bureau director Wanchai Bootthongdee said he also had concerns for river navigation, even though the department had representatives on the study team.

“We have department representatives working with KMITL team to monitor the structure over the waterway, which I have inspected. There is still no problem. The river will be narrowed down… but they (the KMITL team) must make sure the narrower river will not affect river transportation,

” Wanchai said.Meanwhile, Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST) director Nonn Panitvong said the promenade would push the river toward total ecological devastation.

“The Chao Phraya River’s ecosystem right now is already bad. It is almost 80 per cent dead, because the heart of the river ecosystem on the riverbank has already been destroyed.

However, a large structure over the river will further kill the river ecosystem and push it closer to a total ecologically dead river,” Nonn said. The promenade would make water beneath it putrid because the slower river flow from the poles would trap garbage in the river.

Due to the lack of sunshine, water quality would rapidly decrease and further destroy the river ecosystem.”I don’t know why we have to build such a project over the river and make the river narrower. This is totally in conflict with the river development in other countries, which aim to make the river broader and return the good ecosystem to the river,” he said.

“I hope the policymakers will think twice before giving the green light to such an expensive and devastating project.

The KMITL-hosted press conference yesterday got a bit heated when a leader of the “Friends of the River” group Yossapon Boonsom asked whose duty it was to conduct a feasibility study and said the institution should first launch a formal debate on the subject.

The project spokesperson Antika Sawadsri said the study on the project was nearly 70 per cent complete, while the blueprint for phase one of the 14-kilometre promenade was 50 per cent finished.

The team was given seven months to complete the study and has two months left before the September deadline. Once the study is ready, the project will be up for bidding in October, and construction should begin in January 2017.

“For now many of the construction plans are still not settled because they go past sensitive areas such as royal pavilions. It is also difficult to design a promenade in a community area because community members are always ready to offer their opinions,” she said.

She said the next step would be to finalise the blueprint and then arrange a final public hearing in early September to hear people’s opinions on the project, adding that the job would be done in time.

“Many plans are not approved yet, so it is not the time to publicise it right. This is why some communities have been complaining that we have not provided them with full information and that we only advertised the project,” she said.

“We still have the problem of acceptance, because some people don’t want the promenade passing through their communities, so the solution may be that the promenade will be built jutting into the river instead,” the spokesperson said.

At the end of the session, Yossapon asked why the team did not conduct a feasibility study, how it would take responsibility for its findings, and whether it would hold a forum giving those for and against the project a chance to speak.

Antika responded that the team had only been given the job of planning how the riverfront area could be developed so everybody can enjoy it. She said a feasibility study was the responsibility of authorities.

“We cannot say whether this project is appropriate or not. We only have to find out what is the most suitable way for the riverfront to be developed, and ensure that everybody gets equal rights to the river,” she said.

She added that the KMITL’s blueprint would be used in the construction of the project, adding that all parties were invited to monitor the implementation of the plan.

In response to the proposal to hold a debate, she said the team had already listened to opposing voices and had made adjustments accordingly. She said those opposing the plan were welcome to attend events and public hearings regarding the project.

However, Yossapon said he was still worried about the vagueness of the plan because the KMITL team had not disclosed the full scope of the project.

He also suggested that the decision to build a promenade intruding on the river concerned everyone, not just local residents, because the waterway belonged to the public.