RAYONG - Koh Samet will have sufficient tap water fed from the mainland for islanders and tourists next year, officials said on Friday.
The Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) is joining hands with the Rayong Provincial Administration and the Laem Ya-Koh Samet National Park to address the clean water shortage on the island crowded with foreign and local tourists, especially on weekends and long holidays.
The three agencies signed an agreement on the water project on Friday.
Under the agreement, the PWA will improve its water distributing station at the national park under a budget of 54 million baht, while the local administration is responsible for laying underwater pipes from the station to the island for four kilometres and expanding the water distribution system on Koh Samet with its 250-million-baht budget.
Jirachai Moonthongroi, deputy permanent secretary for the Prime Minister's Office, said during the signing ceremony that the island would be supplied with enough tap water when the project completes next year.
The project will sustain the tourism business on the island and the PWA plans to supply water to other islands popular for tourists in the future, the official added.
Despite the popularity among travellers, the island has no natural water resources and has to build a water reservoir as the main water source, the Tourism and Sports Office in Rayong says on the website. Several restaurants and resorts buy clean water from the mainland in Ban Phae in Muang district, it adds.