Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

Challenges to Recovery and Reconstruction
Implementation
From an implementation perspective, the reconstruction works should present no
significant challenges for the various road sector agencies. The works, although large in
some instances (although most are estimated to cost THB 30 million or less), are of a
standard nature with which the agencies are very familiar. Most of the works will be
implemented by private sector contractors (except perhaps for the railway, which may
utilize its large workforce). The works will most likely be supervised by a combination of
the agencies’ own personnel and private sector consultants. While availability of
contractors, equipment and materials should not be a constraint, providing sufficient
supervision resources to ensure that the works are executed to the required quality
standards will require attention. Implementing such a large volume of work over a relatively
short period can often result in a lack of attention to quality requirements, with a
consequent reduced service life of the investment. To address this potential risk, more use
than would normally be the case should be made of domestic private sector consulting
resources for construction supervision.
Preparation
The agencies charged with restoring the
road network to its pre-flood condition
will be under considerable pressure to
do this without delay, as soon as funds
become available. Since the works are
relatively simple, design and procurement
documentation work can be completed
very quickly. For much of the damaged
network this will be the appropriate
approach. However, the need for such a
large-scale rehabilitation program
presents an opportunity to look more
closely at the network from a
sustainability and disaster risk
management perspective. In this context,
the following concepts could be
considered in developing the rehabilitation
program.
Comprehensive and consistent hydraulic information
It seems apparent that each agency developing infrastructure, whether roads, canals,
urban installations, and others, undertakes its own hydraulic studies, and bases its designs
on these studies, without very much regard for what impact the development might have
on other developments in adjacent areas. This can be a dangerous approach in flood
plains such as the Chao Phraya River Basin, where small changes in the hydraulic
THAI FLOOD 2011 RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING
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