20/01/2011 (Bangkok Post) - A palm oil studies and development centre will be set up to redevelop more than 150,000 rai of abandoned orange orchards in Rangsit area as a palm oil growing zone, Anusorn Saengnimnual, president of Bang Chak Petroleum, said on Thursday.

Bang Chak and the Energy and Agriculture and Cooperatives ministries and the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives today signed a cooperation agreement to set up the centre in Thung Rangsit of  Nakhon Nayok’s Ban Na district, said Mr Anusorn.

“The agreement is aimed at encouraging farmers in the abandoned fruit orchards area to turn to growing palm oil to increase their income, to help combat global warming, to ensure energy security and to prevent flooding in Bangkok,” he said.

Mr Anusorn said if the output of raw palm oil produced in the Rangsit fields area  can reach commercial level, Bang Chak would invest about 350 million baht to build a palm oil extraction  plant with a capacity of 45 tonnes per hour in the area.