Thai Cabinet nods for MRTA's new electric train projects, imports of corn

BANGKOK, January 21 (TNA) - The Thai Cabinet has allowed the state-run Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) to borrow a total of some 16.22 billion baht in the 2013 fiscal year to implement its new electric train projects. Thai Government Spokesman Dr. Tossaporn Serirak told journalists that the approval was made at the Cabinet's mobile meeting in Uttaradit province in the Lower Thai North on Monday. Dr. Tossaporn said, part of the 16.22-billion-baht loan, 11.47 billion baht, will pay for the construction, consultancy and construction supervision of the extended Hua Lamphong-Bang Kae and the Bang Sue-Tha Phra sections of the Blue Line electric train project in Bangkok and the other part, 4.74 billion baht, will go to the Bearing-Samut Prakan section of the Green Line. Dr. Tossaporn revealed that the Cabinet assigned the Bureau of the Budget to allocate money from the state coffer to repay the debt for the MRTA. According to the spokesman, the Thai Cabinet also allowed the MRTA to restructure its debt with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and assigned the Ministry of Finance to borrow and repay the loan for the MRTA; while the MRTA will later sign a contract to repay the debt to the Fiance Ministry, which will also help manage foreign exchange rates and costs for the debt restructuring. Meanwhile, the Thai Cabinet also endorsed 35 development projects, totally worth 672 million baht, for five provinces in the Lower Thai North, including those on building roads, preventing floods and promoting tourism in Phitsanulok, Tak, Phetchabun, Sukhothai and Uttaradit, with each province to receive about 100 million baht, and that the Cabinet allocated similar sums for development projects in other provinces in its previous upcountry meetings. The Cabinet also allowed the Public Warehouse Organization (PWO) to import about 200,000 tons of field corn from Laos at zero per cent tariff from January-February 2013 to be exported to third countries and to import another 250,000 tons of field corn from Cambodia, also at zero per cent, about 100,000 tons of which will be imported in August and the remaining 150,000 tons from November 2012-January 2014, to feed livestock in Thailand. (TNA)