samakmega1 Lyrics

February 04, 2008
Big plans
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, right, was greeted by outgoing Defence Minister Boonrawd Somthas and permanent secretary for defence Gen Winai Phattiyakul, middle, as he joined military leaders to commemorate Veterans Day at the Victory Monument yesterday. KOSOL NAKACHOL

New prime minister Samak Sundaravej had a busy Sunday. It was Veteran's Day, so he had a chance to meet top military leaders at ceremonies held at the Victory Monument. That seemed friendly enough but you can be sure there are considerably tensions behind the scenes.

Mr Samak's relations with the media have been rather strained in the past, but yesterday he took steps to smooth things out, cooking lunch for a large group of journalists gathered at his home. He also took time to outline his plans for several megaprojects. You will certainly hear more about this subject, especially from critics of his plans for diverting water from the Mekong River to help northeastern farmers. Read to find out what the plan involves and why Mr Samak thinks it will work. What other large projects does he have in mind?

commemorate - to show that you remember an important person or event by holding a special ceremony or by creating a special object ฉลอง เป็นอนุสรณ์ เป็นที่ระลึก
tensions - the feeling caused by a lack of trust between people, groups or countries ความกดดัน
strained - not relaxed or friendly ความเครียด
megaprojects - very large and expensive projects โครงการขนาดใหญ่ ปัจจุบันภาษาไทยใช้ทับศัพท์ว่า เมกะโปรเจค
diverting - making something move or travel in a different direction เปลี่ยนเส้นทาง

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Megaprojects 'a top priority' for new govt
Big plans for diversion of water from Mekong

ANUCHA CHAROENPO

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravey shows a bowl of his curried noodle soup, or 'kuay tiew kaeng', he cooked during a lunch with journalists at is house at Navamin road.

The incoming government will make megaprojects worth at least 500 billion baht its top priority soon after the new cabinet members take office, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said yesterday.

The projects include an ambitious plan to build an underground pipeline to divert water from the Mekong river to the northeastern region and the extension of the skytrain by more than 100 kilometres to reach the outer suburbs of Bangkok.

The newly-appointed prime minister said the ambitious water project aimed at helping farmers in the Northeast, the country's poorest region, would probably not be completed under his government's four-year term due to the scale of it. But it was a good start and future governments should continue it, he said.

He said the project had received the full backing of northeastern MPs.

Under the plan water from the Mekong, which runs about 700 kilometres from Chiang Rai to Ubon Ratchathani along Thailand's northern border, will be diverted through underground tunnels to Loei and Udon Thani, where reservoirs will act as distribution centres to send the water on to farms in other provinces during the dry season. The water will be transported through small pipelines.

Mr Samak said the project was realistic, given what Israel had done by turning its arid areas into fertile farmland, and vowed to make it possible even though he could possibly face criticism from environmentalists.

''I am not too ambitious. State agencies involved, especially the Royal Irrigation Department, must seriously help us undertake it,'' he said.

''Were I not prime minister, I would not have an opportunity to push for this project,'' he added.

He said he did not care about opposition from non-governmental organisations.

Past governments tried to divert water from the Mekong but faced strong opposition from other countries sharing the river. The Mekong starts in China and flows through Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Water use for the lower basin, comprising Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is regulated by the Mekong River Commission.

priority - something important that must be done first or needs more attention than anything else สิ่งที่มาเป็นอันดับแรก
ambitious - difficult and needing a lot of effort to succeed ที่ทะเยอทะยาน ที่ฮึกเหิม
extension - an addition; a lengthening การขยายออกไป
suburbs - areas or towns near a large city but away from its centre ชานเมือง
scale - size, especially a very large size ขนาด ส่วนมากใช้อธิบายขนาดใหญ่
backing - support การสนับสนุน
tunnel - an underground passage อุโมงค์
reservoir - an artificial or natural lake where water is stored so that it can be supplied to the houses in an area บ่อเก็บน้ำ บ่อพักน้ำ
distribution - the process of supplying something, in this case, water การจำหน่าย การส่งออกไปยังที่ต่างๆ
given - because of a particular fact ด้วยเหตุว่า
arid - very dry with few plants because of a lack of rain แห้งแล้ง
fertile - able to produce good crops or plants อุดมสมบูรณ์
vowed - made a serious promise to do something ให้คำมั่นสัญญา
irrigation - the process of bringing water to land through a series of pipes or ditches การชลประทาน
undertake - to do a job or project เข้ารับตำแหน่ง
opposition - strong disagreement with a plan or policy especially when this is shown in active attempts to prevent something ความขัดแย้ง ความไม่ลงรอยกันในนโยบาย
basin - a large area of land whose surface water flows into a particular river or lake พื้นที่ที่มีลักษณะเป็นแ่อ่ง
comprising - consisting of two or more things ประกอบไปด้วย
regulated - controlled officially by using rules ถูกควบคุม ดูแล

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