PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office has hired a contractor to repair the water pump system in the Darasamut Underpass, in the hope of eventually avoiding having the essential tunnel closed again due to flooding.
The confirmation came via Phuket MP Somchart Techathavorncharoen in a post on his official Facebook page yesterday (July 10).
The contractor, Grundfos (Thailand) Co Ltd, was procured through a contract signed on June 16.
Grundfos, a major pump provider, has 120 days to complete the works.
The contract marks that the works must be completed by Oct 14, 2023 ‒ right in the middle of the month that Phuket is renowned for torrential downpours.
The contract value is B1.889 million. The daily fine for breach of contract ‒ that is, failing to complete the project on time ‒ is B4,722.50
News that at least a contractor had been hired to finally fix the pumps in the underpass will be music to the ears of many motorists who have been caught out by the tunnel being closed due to rising floodwater, as it was on Sunday. The underpass finally reopened to traffic at about 7am yesterday.
All three pumps in the underpass have repeatedly failed, fellow Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee noted yesterday.
A pump provided by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO) has been installed on site, but is unable to cope with the volume of water flowing into the underpass with each heavy downpour.
The PPAO pump was installed ‘temporarily” after the underpass was closed due to flooding in May.
At that time, following yet another pump failure in the underpass, Wongsakorn ‘Bank’ Chanakit, the Bhumjaithai Party candidate for Phuket District 2 in the national election on May 14, inspected the site and claimed that the essential safety equipment in the Darasamut Underpass, including the pumps, had never had been fully maintained, and never had a full overhaul.
