BANGKOK – Chadchart Sittipunt, the Governor of Bangkok, along with his deputy governors, held a press conference on the occasion of their two-year work under the event name “2 Years of Work: Changing, Improving, and Upgrading the Livable City.” They also presented their vision for the next two years at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in Pathumwan district on May 28.
He summarized the changes and improvements made in various aspects over the past two years to make work and problem-solving more flexible and efficient, reducing fatigue and increasing happiness in people’s lives.
Traffy Fondue: Reducing steps, increasing transparency, and meeting needs. This is one example of what has been done to increase efficiency in solving people’s problems. In two years, 465,291 out of 588,842 total complaints have been resolved, accounting for 78%, building trust between the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the people.
Improving sidewalks to a new standard: Durable, cost-effective, and considerate of everyone. The BMA is committed to making sidewalks conducive to use by people of all genders and ages, adhering to standards of strength, durability, and beauty. In two years, 785 km of sidewalks have been improved, entrance and exit areas of buildings have been leveled with the sidewalks, sidewalk heights have been reduced to 10 cm and 18 cm, and Braille blocks have been installed in straight lines for easy use by people with disabilities and the elderly.
Organizing street vendors and stalls to provide access to affordable food without encroaching on sidewalks. This has been done at 257 locations, along with organizing messy communication lines over a total distance of 627 km. Additionally, lighting bulbs have been changed to LED bulbs connected to an IoT system, automatically detecting and quickly fixing faulty bulbs, allowing Bangkok residents to walk home with peace of mind.
Fast water drainage, timely transportation, and uninterrupted economy. The long-standing problems of rainfall, poor drainage, and difficult travel in Bangkok have been addressed. Since reviewing the lessons learned and gathering data on flood points throughout Bangkok, 370 points have been resolved, and another 190 points will be resolved by 2024.
Preparations for flood prevention before the rainy season include cleaning 4,200 km of drainage pipes, clearing 1,960 km of canals, dredging 217 km of canals, maintaining floodgates and pumping stations, cleaning all drainage tunnels, and inspecting all pumps to ensure they are ready for use.
Increasing public spaces for a lively city. Fifty-eight parks, 36 recreation centers, 34 libraries, two children’s museums, and 12 sports centers have been developed to enable people to access and use services more efficiently.
In addition, 11 new comprehensive sports centers have been renovated, with plans to expand to another 13 locations. The Benjasiri Park serves as a model for expanding sports centers to other parks throughout Bangkok, such as Nong Bon Lake, to make them more accessible to the public.
Increasing creative spaces: The Lumpini Building is being renovated into a Performance Art Hub for Bangkok residents, scheduled for completion in 2025. Large parks are being added to serve as the lungs for air purification and as recreational areas for Bangkok residents, such as the Nong Bon Lake-Suanluang Rama IX Park project, the largest public park in Bangkok, and the new water sports park at Bor Frang (along Bang Sue Lake) and the Bangkok Wetland Forest Park (Seri Thai).
The latest 15-minute parks, small parks close to communities within a 15-minute walking distance, have already emerged in over 100 locations and are expected to reach 500 locations within four years.
Improving health services: There is a free health check-up project for 1,000,000 people, with more than 14 basic screening items to detect disease signals before they become dangerous. In addition, the services of public service centers have been expanded to provide treatment until 8 PM or on Saturdays and Sundays in all areas. Health promotion and rehabilitation centers (physiotherapy) for treating office syndrome have also been expanded to eight nearby centers, and Pride Clinics offering free screening and consultation for LGBTQ+ individuals have increased from 6 to 31 locations, serving nearly 20,000 people.
Transparency through technology: Value for taxpayer money. Over the past two years, there have been intensive efforts to prevent and combat corruption. A total of 781 complaints were investigated, with 56 cases having evidence of corruption, 44 cases reaching the stage of disciplinary investigation, 29 people being dismissed from government service, 12 cases pending consideration, and 5 cases forwarded to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) or the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).
Various permit application services have become more convenient with the BMA One Stop Service, centralizing permit applications online. More than 1,000 datasets on policies, budgets, employment contracts, and taxes have been made available through Open Data, with over 3 million user visits per year. The procurement system has been opened up to ensure transparency from bidding to contract management.
Efforts have been made to efficiently manage funds with the public interest in mind. The long-standing problem of the BTS skytrain extension project has been resolved in the first step, with the payment of 23 billion baht in debt for the extension system and the transfer of ownership to the BMA.
The next step is to reduce monopoly by proposing that the government revoke the Section 44 order and bring the skytrain system back under the legal procurement and joint investment process for the benefit of the public.
“For the next two years, we will work to build Bangkok as a livable city of the future by collaborating with all sectors. Since announcing the policy and working for two years, 90% has been achieved. There are still things that are not done well, and many problems need to be addressed further. If I were to rate my performance, I would give it a 5 out of 10. As for how satisfied or happy the people of Bangkok are, we’ll have to let the public tell us,” Chadchart said.
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