The Prime Minister ordered a complete overhaul of the management system to build a permanent floodway solution for floods, pointing out it is more cost-effective than the 40 billion baht spent annually on compensation that is essentially wasted.
On 3 July 2026, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul visited the site to monitor progress of the floodway project designed to prevent floods in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province, and ordered adjustments to accelerate construction after facing delays caused by various factors in the past.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the project has been delayed due to past complications, including the COVID-19 crisis, flooding, and global impacts affecting contractors, which led the government to extend contract deadlines as compensation. However, from now on, no further extensions will be granted, and the management system will be overhauled. If any initial phase is unfinished and impacts subsequent stages, it must be expedited immediately.
He added that any projects that can be overlapped or run in parallel without affecting main structures should be ordered to proceed simultaneously to save time. Investing in long-term water management infrastructure is far more cost-effective than paying compensation repeatedly, as the government currently loses 30 to 40 billion baht each year compensating citizens affected by floods lasting more than three days.
"If we convert the annual compensation budget into investments in permanent and stable water management infrastructure, it will benefit the nation and provide sustainable solutions for the people," Anutin concluded.