The high levels of PM2.5 air pollution seen this month revive the question of what national and local governments could have done but failed to do. Within this, the proposed relocation of Bangkok Port out of the capital city -- part of the national master plan to reduce PM2.5 -- attracted media attention.
Moving the port -- also called Klong Toey Port -- out of the city is not a new policy, as it was part of the national master plan approved by the junta government in 2019. Moves were afoot even before then. Over the past decade, the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT), under the transport ministry, has gradually moved over 80% of the port's cargo activities to Laem Chabang Port in Chon Buri province.
