Civil groups protest planned nuclear power plant in Ubon Ratchathani

The protest against the nuclear power plant was staged in the wake of a series of explosions at the earthquake-hit Fukushima power complex in Japan.

Sodsai Sangsok, coordinator of the Thai Network Against Nuclear Power Plants, and about 200 others from 16 civil society organisations gathered at the city pillar shrine in Ubon Ratchathani to demonstrate their opposition to the Energy Ministry’s policy to build a nuclear power plant in Sirindhorn district in the coming 4 to 5 years.

The government endorsed the Ministry’s Power Development Plan (PDP) 2010 to study and construct five nuclear power plants with the first to be located in Ubon Ratchathani and to supply electricity into the system in 2020 while the construction of the rest four planned nuclear power plants are scheduled to finish in 2030.  

Ms Sodsai said local residents in Ubon Ratchathani fear the negative impact of the nuclear power plant, as Japan is facing. Despite Japan’s readiness in terms of technology, the explosions of nuclear reactors cannot be handled easily. Representatives of the local residents will also submit a letter to the government to cancel the whole project to build nuclear power plants, besides their movement on Wednesday.