Water project loan on track, ministry says

The total loan will have to be used within three years. 

Finance permanent secretary Areepong Bhoocha-oom said the Debt Management Office had drawn up the financing plan and would sign a contract with financial institutions to lock in the funds.

“That will not raise our costs, as we will inform the financial institutions of our expenditure schedule,” he said. The ministry is waiting for the details of the investment projects from the government committee responsible for designing and implementing the scheme. The projects are expected to win approval and be tendered by next month. 

Some Bt10 billion has already been spent.

“When we disburse the loan proceeds for some time or up to a certain level, we will convert these short-term liabilities [into long-term borrowing] and that will allow us to manage this debt at a lower cost,” Areepong said.

There should also be sufficient liquidity for the Bt2-trillion borrowing plan for infrastructure mega-projects, he said. About Bt30 billion to Bt40 billion will be spent this first year of the seven-year plan.

The bill authorising the Bt2-trillion loan is expected to pass the House of Representatives by August.

“The bill is being vetted by a House committee for its second reading. Then it will go to the next step of consideration of each project. After that, project selection will be made by each ministry. Agencies will review projects before implementation,” he said.