Thai DPM:Infrastructure bill is transparent

BANGKOK, March 16 (TNA) - In an attempt to ensure transparency for the government’s plan to borrow some two trillion baht to fund its investment on massive infrastructure development projects in Thailand, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong has reiterated that the bill, which needs a parliamentary approval, will clearly specify lending sources and national investment targets of the seven-year projects. Kittirat insisted during the weekly TV and radio programme of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, which was broadcast live from the 2020 Thailand Exhibition being held at the Government Centre on Bangkok’s Chaeng Wattana Road on Saturday morning, that it is necessary for the Thai government to issue the bill, instead of relying on the government’s annual spending expenditure on the projects, to ensure that the new mega-investment projects can be continued without a hitch. Kittirat explained that the amount of the government’s annual spending expenditure is cut in certain years, depending on the country’s financial status. On concerns over the country’s fiscal positions after the borrowing, Kittirat assessed that it should not affect and push Thailand’s public debts to exceed 50 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), as official scrutiny on the planned borrowing will be carried out strictly. According to Thai Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt, who also joined the programme, the bill is expected to be tabled before the Thai Cabinet's next weekly meeting on March 19 and to go before the Thai Parliament for debate by late this month, as the government tries to get it approved before the current parliamentary session recedes next month. (TNA)