On the morning of Saturday 27 January, a group of students and engineering faculty lecturer, Ajarn Rajesh, visited the famous hydro power scheme in Kanchanaburi.
Virak Bol is a fourth year mechanical engineering student, and he writes:
“We were a mix of engineers and our friends from other faculties, and the visit provided the opportunity to see a real hydro plant, gain physical knowledge of the system and its operation. We were also interested in seeing first hand the impact of the scheme on the environment; the knowledge that can not be learnt in the classroom.
On the way we stopped at Thailand-Burma Railway to have a look at this historic site. At the end of the afternoon, we reached the Srinakarin Dam and Hydropower plant. We went around the dam structure and saw how the plant was built. The atmosphere there is very nice and the air is very fresh. Early next morning we went on a boat to see the water reservoir and then went to the power plant.
Srinakarin dam is the first and biggest multipurpose dam developed under the Mae Klong River Basin Development project. This rockfill dam and the associated power plant of 720 MW power capacity has hugely contributed numerous benefits to the country’s rapid development, including irrigation, flood control, fishery, navigation, recreation and electricity.
The studies started in 1965 and the dam construction started in 1973, and was finished in 1980. In the hydropower plant there are four turbines. The power production rate depends on the power demand in various areas, such as 
Besides the impact on the local inhabitants, the dam and power plant project affects several aspects of the environment: water quality; killing animals, including fish; deforestation; archaeology and changing life cycles.
Srinakarin dam and hydropower plant has contributed enormously to Thailand’s development: providing sufficient water to irrigate 4,118 million rai; average annual energy production 1,250 million kWh; better flood control; salinity control; potential for fish breeding and one of the most famous tourist attractions in Kanchanaburi province.”
The students were especially grateful to staff of EGAT for permitting and assisting on the visit.
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