Dozens of roads to be repaired in Thai far South

BANGKOK, September 27 (TNA) - The Ministry of Defence is sending engineering soldiers to improve or repair 37 roads in the violence-plagued Thai far South. Defence Ministry Spokesman Colonel Thanathip Sawangsaeng told reporters on Thursday that Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra expressed her concerns over the safety of soldiers in the Thai deep South at the meeting of the Defence Council and instructed the Defence Science and Technology Department to develop and supply military equipment which will help protect soldiers in the region, while ordering the Engineer Department to design and improve the 37 roads in the southern border region, eight in Yala, 12 in Pattani, 13 in Narathiwat and 4 in Songkhla provinces, for the sake of the safety of the troops and the general public. According to the spokesman, the roads are existing ones but they need to be maintained and to have their pavement replaced with a total budget of 532 million baht, funded by the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC). (TNA)