Mobile Cabinet meeting to discuss basic infrastructure in Lower Thai North

UTTARADIT, THAILAND, January 19 (TNA) - Uttaradit Province in the Lower Thai North is now ready to host the Cabinet's new mobile meeting, scheduled for January 20-21, with basic infrastructure development projects in the region set to be top of the agenda. Speaking to reporters of overall preparations forthe new mobile Cabinet meeting, Thai Deputy Finance Minister Tanusak Lekuthai acknowledged today that the government will accelerate on developing basic infrastructure in the Lower Thai North to facilitate goods transportation, in the lead-up to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), set to be formed by 2015. In a bid to improve transportation networks, Tanusak said roads linking between lower northern Thai provinces, including Pichit, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai and Uttaradit, for a total distance of 70 kilometres, will be enlarged from two to four traffic lanes to facilitate the goods transportation. According to the deputy finance minister, a proposal on setting up the Pu-du checkpoint at the Thai-Lao border will also be considered by the Cabinet, after the Thai government has given loans to neighbouring Laos, totaling 700 million baht, to develop a road and the border checkpoint. The deputy finance minister noted that the two projects are scheduled to be complete over the next three years and upon their completion, they will help facilitate agricultural goods transportation to Laos and enable goods transportation from China to Myanmar to run smoothly. It is projected that the value of goods transportation passing through the Pudu checkpoint will increase from about 270 million baht annually to 1.2 billion baht after the establishment of the AEC. Taweesak Poongwongsanulak, Chairman of Uttaradit's Chamber of Commerce, told journalists, meanwhile, that the provincial private sector plans to request the Cabinet to provide assistance on developing major fruits grown in the province, including pineapple, durian and langsat. (TNA)