Bangkok (ANTARA News) - More than 14,000 plants in 20 provinces have been submerged by heavy floods which have so far affected two-thirds of country while over half a million employees affected, a senior official from Labor Ministry said Tuesday.

All five industrial estates in historic Ayutthaya city -- Saharatana, Rojana, Hi-Tech, Bang Pa-in and Factoryland -- were submerged. As a result, some 620 factories have to stop their production and nearly 200,000 employees were suspended.

In Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, 227 factories were flooded, affecting over 175, 000 workers.

Meanwhile, a former director general of the Royal Irrigation Department warned also that Bang Kradi Industrial Estate in Pathum Thani could probably be the next to be hit by floods after Nava Nakorn as it is located in a flood-prone area.

Thailand`s most serious floods in over 50 years have thus far killed at least 315 people and impacted around 2.3 million in affected areas covering two-third of the nation. Initial reconstruction budget estimated by government agencies on Monday was set at 100 billion baht (3.3 billion U.S. dollars).

Xinhua/H-AK

Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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