No policy to rent land on long-term to foreign businessmen

BANGKOK, Jan 31 (TNA) -- Refuting press reports on the government pondering to rent state-owned land on a long-term to the private and foreign businessmen, a government spokesman said the government still has no policy on such issue. Spokesman Maj Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said press reports which saying that the government might allow the private and foreign businessman to rent state-owned land for a period of up to 99 years which some critics said it was similar to selling land to foreigners. He said the government has neither raised the issue with the private sector nor with foreign businessmen. The reports broke out after businessmen proposed to use the land owned by the State Railway of Thailand at Bangkok’s Makkasan area for development and the concerned state enterprises listened to opinions and advice from various sectors before weighing pros and cons by upholding national interests as stake, said Gen Sansern said. So far, the government has never thought about this idea and only the Board of Investment which offers incentive measures to investors to induce them to invest in industrial estates to stimulate national economy, he added. (TNA)