Thailand has earmarked 1.4 trillion baht for investment in transportation for 2022. The budget will fund projects to improve land, rail water, and air transportation. The Ministry of Transport meanwhile expects the public to benefit from an economic return of 1.6 times the investment amount, as well as improved transportation safety and punctuality.
At the ‘Thailand Future Smart & Sustainable Mobility’ event, Transport Minister SaksayamChidchob delivered a speech on his ministry’s aim to develop land, rail, water, and air transport alongside efforts based on the 20-year national strategy.
Projects to develop the four types of transportation will involve 1.4 trillion baht of investment, which can be separated into 516 billion baht for projects whose contracts have already been signed and 974 billion baht for new investments. Taken together, these projects are expected to generate 2.24 trillion baht in economic benefits or about 1.6 times the amount of investment.
Saksayam said the economic gain would reach 2 trillion baht if not for COVID-19. He added that the investment will benefit people in Thailand by making transportation services safe, punctual and affordable. He also said the rapid transit trains in Greater Bangkok will improve the speed of rush-hour commutes to 35 kilometers per hour (km/h), while the dual-track rail project will increase the speed of trips from 60 km/h to 100 km/h, and the high-speed train projects boost raise train speeds to 160 km/h from 80 km/h at present.
He added that the train link between the Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao airports will facilitate inter-regional connectivity in Thailand and boost the nation’s capacity to accommodate international passengers to 120 million persons per year.
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