Joining the summit in Honolulu, USA, as a stand-in for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, he promised the construction of large canals and more efficient use of dams and reservoirs.

"We have high confidence that this will not repeat," he said in an exclusive interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Kittiratt countered criticisms of the Thai government. "There is no evidence to believe there was mismanagement or malpractice or ignorance," he said. "This has to be a result of climate change and global warming."

He also argued that businesses themselves are responsible for losses caused by the interruptions to their factory operations, saying the businesses have pursued efficiency over better risk management.

Thailand has unveiled the short and long-term plans to deal with the water management systems, said to involve Bt900 billion of investment. As part of the 2012 budget, the government allocates Bt120 billion for relief measures, of which details are not yet available.

Thai finance officials see no problem in funding the projects which will improve Thailand's infrastructure and competitiveness.

In this regard, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda told a meeting of finance ministers in Honolulu, who convened prior to Apec leaders summit, that Asia must invest more in infrastructure to cope with economic growth. ADB estimated that Asia would need to invest around US$8 billion between now and 2020.

Kuroda said governments must continue regulatory and policy reforms to encourage international and domestic investors, as well as public-private-partnerships. They must also build up the capacity of public sector agencies to identify and carry out infrastructure projects.

ADB together with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), established an ASEAN Infrastructure Fund which is seeking to mobilize up to $30 billion in global savings by 2020 for infrastructure development.