BANGKOK, 9 October 2013 – The 2.2 trillion baht loan bill received the green light from the Senate on the first reading after 2 days of discussion.
The Senate yesterday voted 86 in favor of the bill and 41 against. The majority of senators clarified that although they support the infrastructure development projects which will be boons to the nation’s economic growth, they still have concerns over various issues such as the Government’s ability to pay off the debt, the project’s investment return, and a lack of transparency.
The Senate has set up a 25-member committee to scrutinize the bill within 7 days.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na Ranong reiterated that the repayment of the planned borrowings would not affect the country’s GDP and assured the public that the projects would definitely benefit all involved.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt stressed that a parliamentary passage of the bill did not signify that infrastructure projects could commence immediately. All projects have legal procedures they have to go through for transparency and for checks and balances.
