BANGKOK, Feb. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) of Thailand has invited foreign consulting firms to take part in bidding for contracts to Thailand's water management projects in 25 river basins across the kingdom.

    "The foreign consulting firms are welcome to study and present their proposed approaches on effective water management for all the country's 25 river basins and adjacent areas," RID Director-General Samart Chokkanapitak was quoted by the Thai News Agency assaying on Saturday.

    "When fully developed and integrated, the country's water management system will assure the country of sufficient water resource for domestic consumption -- household, business and agricultural sector use--and of protection from flooding," he said.

    E-auctions to choose successful bidders to contract for the projects will be launched later this year.

    Foreign firms interested in the projects can contact the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives or the Royal Irrigation Department for more information, the news agency said.

    The water management projects are a portion of government-supported megaprojects, worth about 1.7 trillion Bhat (about 42.5 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem