Mass protests force Thailand to order fresh impact assessment of Krabi coal-fired plant

The Thai government has accepted demands from protesters and ordered a fresh Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) of the Krabi coal-fired power plant.

However, officials of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) voiced concerns over the power stability in the south being affected by the delay.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha approved the controversial coal plant on Friday, after a confrontation between protesters opposed to the plant, and officials.

The government agreed to protesters' demands to the restart of the public participation process within the EHIA.

Five prominent leaders of the protest were also released. They had been arrested and detained at the 11th Military Circle in Bangkok on Saturday.

Prayut said work on the coal-fired power plant would not go ahead until the project passed the EHIA.

''If a specialist committee states that the entire EHIA study has to be restarted, Egat and the Energy Ministry must follow [that advice]. This is linked to the Energy Policy Planning Office committee's conclusion that the project must follow proper guidelines under the law, especially the EHIA consideration,'' Prayut said.

One of the protest leaders, Prasitchai Nu-nuan, told reporters after his release that he was treated well in custody and very happy with the decision to scrap the current EHIA.

According to commentators, the delay to the plant even as an Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) was underway marked a rare decision by the junta to bow to protesters, who had largely been silenced since a 2014 coup.

"We informed the prime minister and he ordered the entire EHIA process to be improved and the public participation to be reset," government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd was quoted as saying by The Nation newspaper.

The news has been welcomed by the protesters.