Infrastructure
Wikileaks owner told rape warrant no longer valid
 A rape warrant, which had been signed by Swedish officials for WikiLeaks owner Julian Assange, has been suddenly dropped.
Swedish prosecutors have said a rape allegation against Assange had led to the warrant.
But, while declining to go into details, they have implied that the allegations against the whistleblower were not credible.
Read more: bangkoknews.net, Wikileaks owner told rape warrant no longer valid
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By Somchai, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Sat Aug 21, 2010 at 08:57:28 PM EST
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Live TV and fast internet will be available on planes by 2014
 Live television and high-speed broadband will be available on airliners and ships within just a few years, Inmarsat announced Friday, following the placement of an order for three Ka-Band satellites from Boeing.
In addition to the long-term strategy, the company also announced a 56% increase in profits for the year so far.
The new systems being introduced by the UK-based company, which will cost around $1.2 billion, will be available in 2014 and will be capable of providing 50 megabyte download speeds compared to the current maximum of 0.5 megabytes via satellites.
Source: Bangkoknews.net, Live TV and fast internet will be available on planes by 2014
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By Somchai, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Sat Aug 07, 2010 at 08:17:48 PM EST
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Bangkok adding solar to grid
 Thailand's energy minister ceremonially broke ground Thursday on what will become the largest solar farm in southeast Asia.
The outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, will be home to a 44-megawatt solar farm to be completed by the end of 2011. The plant dovetails with the country's aim to get 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2022.
Source: cnet.com, Bangkok adding solar to grid
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By Somchai, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Thu Aug 05, 2010 at 10:52:50 AM EST
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First 38 MW solar power plant to start in Oct 2011
Aims to produce at least 120 MW solar power (Adds details)
BANGKOK Aug 5 (Reuters) - Thailand's Bangchak Petroleum PCL (BCP.BK) said on Thursday it planned to spend more than 10 billion baht ($312 million) to build solar power plants of at least 120 megawatts as part of a drive to expand into green energy.
Bangchak gave no timeframe for the investment but said in a statement it planned to focus on renewable energy and aimed to be a carbon-neutral company to reduce carbon emissions to zero in the next three to five years.
Source: Reuters.com, First 38 MW solar power plant to start in Oct
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By Somchai, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Wed Aug 04, 2010 at 10:47:29 PM EST
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Thailand's Late Adoption of 3G is to Its Advantage as Pitfalls are Tried and Tested by Counterparts
In its recent outlook on the Southeast Asia mobile markets, Frost & Sullivan noted that operators in Thailand are learning that data services growth is fast replacing declining voice revenues. This realization has spurred aggressive push from the operator side to encourage take up of 2.5G services. As a result, operators have been anticipating the licensing and spectrum allocation for 3G in Thailand. With trials on existing networks conducted in 2009, operators have been readying networks and services for anticipated but delayed 2010/11 launches.
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By Somchai, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Thu Jul 29, 2010 at 01:50:02 AM EST
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Thailand's PTTEP signs Bangladesh gas deal with Total, Tullow subsidiaries
(Thomson Financial) - Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production has signed a deal to take a 30 percent stake in a project to explore for natural gas in Bangladesh, the company said in a statement Monday.
The deal with Total E&P Bangladesh marks the company's first move into South Asia. It still requires approval from the Bangladeshi government as well as from other partners in the project, PTTEP president Maroot Mrigadat said in the statement.
Total E&P Bangladesh is a subsidiary of French oil company Total.
The project, whose other main partner is Tullow Bangladesh Ltd, will explore offshore for natural gas in two blocks off Chittagong province.
Tullow Bangladesh is a unit of UK oil and gas company Tullow Oil PLC.
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By Rajesh Kumar, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 03:27:16 AM EST
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New Singapore terminal to bolster air hub status: analysts
by Martin Abbugao and Ian Timberlake* Singapore will Wednesday open an ultra-modern new 1.2-billion-dollar airport terminal that industry analysts say will reinforce the city-state's position as a regional aviation hub.Terminal 3, which boasts a five-storey vertical garden with waterfalls, will receive its first passengers just months after a new terminal opened in Hong Kong and more than a year after Bangkok's new airport began operating.Aviation industry competition is intensifying in a region where airline passenger growth is projected to increase faster than the global average.Analysts say the new terminal will boost the appeal of Singapore's Changi Airport -- particularly compared with its key challenger in Bangkok, which has been plagued with problems since opening in 2006."It will push Singapore further ahead of its rivals," said Shukor Yusof, of Standard and Poor's Equity Research.Built at a cost of 1.75 billion Singapore dollars (1.22 billion US), Terminal 3 offers 380,000 square metres (4.1 million square feet) of space in a seven-storey building.It can handle 22 million passengers a year, bringing Changi's total capacity to about 70 million, airport operator the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said.Terminal 3 will add 28 aerobridge gates to Changi, with up to eight designed to handle the world's biggest passenger plane, the superjumbo Airbus A380.Singapore Airlines (SIA) in October became the world's first airline to fly the double-decker A380 and will be the first to operate from Terminal 3.The airline's senior vice president of product and services, Yap Kim Wah, called Terminal 3 "another jewel in the crown for Changi as it cements its position as a leading international hub" -- an assessment analysts agreed with.The new facility "definitely reinforces Singapore's position," said Jim Eckes, managing director of Hong Kong-based aviation consulting firm Indoswiss Aviation.With shiny granite floor tiles and carpeted lounges, the terminal has the ambience of a five-star hotel.
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By Rajesh Kumar, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Mon Jan 07, 2008 at 03:23:21 AM EST
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Thailand's Alternative Energy Use Soars In First 10 Months
Thailand's consumption of alternative energy has soared with bio-diesel use skyrocketing by over 1,000 per cent and natural gas for vehicles (NGV) more than doubling, Thailand News Agency (TNA) reported.
Mettha Bunthuengsuk, director-general of the Energy Business Department, conceded that NGV is now unavailable for sale in some areas since there is a shortage of gas cylinders.
Thailand's state-owned energy giant PTT Plc had already shifted a purchase order for the cylinders to companies in Brazil from South Korean companies in order to address the shortage.
It is expected the problem would be solved in a few months.
He said NGV had gained more popularity worldwide. In Thailand, the consumption of alternative energy including NGV, gasohol (a blend of 90 per cent gasoline and 10 per cent ethanol) and bio-diesel had increased considerably in the past several months.
Simultaneously, most oil traders affirmed they would stop distribution of premium gasoline after the New Year festival. Certain premium gasoline will be available only in major cities.
Mettha said the local consumption of fuel in the first 10 months of this year increased at a much slower pace than that in the same period last year.
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By Rajesh Kumar, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 07:44:35 PM EST
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New oil field found in northern Thailand
Pan Orient Energy (Thailand) Ltd., a Canadian energy firm, has found an additional oil field with a volume of about 5,000 barrels per day in its concession area in the northern province of Phetchabun, said a senior Energy Ministry official.
Krairit Nilkuha, director-general of Mineral Fuels Department, said the discovery was made during a recent survey by the company in its Wichian Buri concession area.
Currently, the company is producing between 600-700 barrels of oil per day from the same area, said Mr. Krairit, adding that the new oil field would help lower oil imports by Thailand.
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By Rajesh Kumar, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Sun Nov 18, 2007 at 09:22:04 AM EST
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Groups Say Dams May Damage Mekong River
BANGKOK, Thailand - Six proposed dams on the Mekong River could displace up to 75,000 villagers and harm hundreds of species like the endangered giant catfish and Irrawaddy dolphin, conservationists warned Tuesday.
Premrudee Daoroung, director of the Bangkok-based environmental group TERRA, said 13-year-old plans to build four dams in Laos and one each in Thailand and Cambodia have been revived as part of efforts _ mostly by China, Thailand and Vietnam _ to find new energy sources for their growing economies.
"The natural flow of the river will all be completely changed," Premrudee said. "Of course, it will affect all the vegetation and fish on the river. Many species of fish will be lost because the river will become shallower and some parts may have no water at all during the dry season."
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By Rajesh Kumar, Section Infrastructure
Posted on Tue Nov 13, 2007 at 06:34:34 PM EST
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