Opportunity, not a setback

The Administrative Court's order to halt work on 76 industrial projects shocked the government, dismayed the business community and even surprised the pro-environment forces who backed the original petition to the court. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij were quick to say the government will appeal the ruling. The cabinet and various government-private sector committees met to discuss the problem. But the government has been too slow to see that the apparent setback also provides opportunity.

The court's decision is important, as the government and business have repeated often during the past few days. But it is not a landmark decision just because it limits construction of industrial projects in the area of Map Ta Phut on the Eastern Seaboard. It is worrying that both local and foreign investors will take the decision as a sign of instability and a reason to hold off new investments. And it is certainly a problem, as Mr Korn stated almost daily since last week's court ruling, that the delay of big investments in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong could slow the economy by 0.4%.

Mr Korn, PM Abhisit and the business community are wrong to cast this ruling in a totally negative light. In fact, there are several reasons to be optimistic about the Administrative Court order. First and foremost, it is a sign that the court system is taking seriously input from across the board. The judgement cited the ruling by the National Environment Board to declare three districts in Rayong province a "pollution control zone".

The legal part of this problem will play out. There will be appeals, further rulings. Rule of law is in motion, and all parties - government, investors and the environmental activists - must live by the results. But the Administrative Court has raised issues far beyond its order for 76 projects to stop work. Even if appeals convince superior courts to reverse every one of the 76 operating bans, it is time for the government and private industry, including foreign investors, to confront questions that are vital to the future of this country.

One of these is whether it is feasible, proper or even moral to continue to jam more and more industry into the Eastern Seaboard. Just a generation ago, the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate was hardly a gleam in the eye of government planners and business interests, many of them associated with the petrochemical industry. Today, just as the Environment Board said, the Map Ta Phut area is not just an eyesore, not just sucking natural resources and literally pouring out pollution. Serious medical and scientific experts agree that Map Ta Phut is unhealthy for residents, workers as well as natives.

Map Ta Phut has been a business success but it is rapidly becoming a systemic failure. It is probably no longer sustainable, and planners in both the government and business sectors should be looking elsewhere to pile on more industrial projects. There are other regions of the country that still could be receptive to industry. The Southern Seaboard has prompted numerous studies and government promises and deserves a serious look.

It is time to realise that Thai growth is being stymied more by stubborn and short-term planning than by courts and environmentalists. It is time for the country to take another step forward, and leave behind the era of dirty industries producing cheap exports. We all have heard the phrase "creative economy" recently. Fighting the court order to continue 76 possibly harmful projects is not at all creative. Out of this supposed setback, business and its government backers could seize the moment and begin preparations for the next step forward for the Thai economy.