Thai government developing infrastructure, balanced budget

BANGKOK, January 22 (TNA) - The Thai government has promised to maintain its fiscal discipline, work out a balanced budget over the next three years and complete 10 new electric train projects within 5-10 years. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong announced the policies at a seminar on national strategies and the 2014 fiscal budget held in Bangkok on Tuesday, saying that for the 2013 fiscal year, the national expenditure was set at 2.4 trillion baht and the revenue at 2.1 trillion baht. Kittirat told the seminar that the Thai government will boost efficiency in national spending to cut its budget deficit to 250 billion baht by the 2014 fiscal year, from 300 billion baht in the 2013 fiscal year, and that he believes the government will have a balanced budget within three years. The deputy premier denied that a 2.2-trillion-baht borrowing planned by the Thai government should worsen the debt burden of the country, insisting that the state could repay the public debt within seven years and a half. Thailand's investment with the borrowing, in the meantime, the deputy premier pointed out, should raise the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.5 per cent annually and push up inflation by 0.1-0.2 per cent, estimating that Thailand's inflation should be within a 3 per cent framework. Meanwhile, Thai Transport Minister Chadchat Sittipunt confirmed that the government is ready to implement the 10 new electric train projects, which are now over 50 per cent complete and should start services over the next 5-10 years. (TNA)