CHIANG MAI, Jan 15 – Thai Cabinet on Sundayy approved in principle a Bt380 billion budget to invest in 128 infrastructure projects in the northern region.
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittirat Na Ranong said after the first mobile cabinet meeting that the cabinet has given a green light for the budget towards infrastructure development including a Bangkok-Chiang Mai high-speed electric train project, a mass transit system project and a flood prevention system project in the region.
Mr Kittirat added that agencies relevant to each project were assigned to propose the investment budget to the screening committee and the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development in order to scrutinise the appropriate budget for each project, explaining that the country needed to invest around Bt2 trillion for long-term infrastructure projects for the whole country.
Meanwhile, Government Spokesperson Thitima Chaisaeng said that the cabinet approved the speeding up of building sluice gates and repairing of destroyed river banks as a short-term investment for flood prevention in the northern region of Thailand.
Regarding the long-term projects in the North valued at Bt380 billion, Ms Thitima explained that the projects included a water resource investment project worth Bt15 billion, the trans-provincial road development project valued at Bt25 billion, a project on the mass transit and rail development worth Bt311 billion, as well as the tourism development project worth Bt10.5 billion.
However, the investment budget for each project will be considered again, the government spokesperson added.
