Thai-Lao "Friendship Bridge" sees both risks and opportunities

Span offers good news and bad for remote district
Critics see pollution, competition for jobs
By Naowarat Suksamran Subin Kheunkaew
Bangkok Post.

Economic fruits and social ills are shaping the outlook for a new''Friendship Bridge'' to be built in the remote but tranquil district of Chiang Khong. The government hopes the bridge, linking Thailand and Laos across the Mekong River, will bolster the economy of the northern
province.

But civic groups suspect it may bring problems as well.

''We expect an increase in garbage and other pollutants,'' said Prapai Prasert, assistant chairwoman of the Tambon Wiang Administration Organisation.

Her agency expects to make money from the bridge, expected to take three years to build.

Tambon Wiang could collect more taxes from a warehouse and goods-loading spots near the bridge. This would boost tax revenues, which currently rely solely on a Thai lignite company which transports lignite from Laos to its factory in Thailand.

''We also expect an increase in visitors,'' Mrs Prapai said.

''We need to build facilities for tourism and restaurants,'' she added.

Civic groups want to protect what they call a ''peaceful town.'' They want to avoid a repeat of what happened in the neighbouring districts of Chiang Saen and Mae Sai, said former Chiang Rai senator and social activist Tuenchai Deetes.

Those places have become commercial districts and are gradually losing their links with the past.

''We will encounter changes that affect our lifestyle when we open the door to economic prosperity,'' said Ms Tuenchai, a leader of the We Love Chiang Khong group.

The group once protested against dam construction on the Mekong in China and rapids blasting in the same river to make passage for boats easier. The projects could threaten water ecology in the Mekong, say environmentalists.

The Thai government will start building the bridge later this year. It is part of a bigger transport network, including a road linking Jinghong in southern China and Houayxay town in Laos, opposite Chiang Khong district. The section linking China and Laos is already finished.

Chiang Rai Chamber of Commerce chairman Pattana Sitthisombat said Thailand would eventually become an outlet for cheap Chinese goods and local sellers would suffer if they could not produce better quality products to compete.

Cheap labourers from China could also enter the labour market in Thailand and vie for jobs with Thais, Mrs Prapai added.

Elsewhere, however, people welcome the prospect of increased trade.

An information technology upgrade is planned to help investors in Mae Sai, Chiang Saen, and Chiang Khong districts. Almost 10 schools in Chiang Rai municipality have opened Chinese courses on trade and investment for students.

Changes are unavoidable, but villagers could deal with them well if they strive to live within their means and avoid becoming addicted to consumerism, Mr Pattana said.

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