Possible delay in Bt2tn borrowing bill: Phongthep
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Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana admitted on Tuesday that the Bt2 trillion investment could face a delay, as the government is rushing on the amnesty bill.
Parliament will scrutinise the amnesty bill next week, taking over the time slot earlier booked for the Bt2 trillion borrowing bill.
Much depends on a House Committee's scrutiny on the borrowing bill, he said. If the House Committee completes the scrutiny, it would be then lined-up for parliamentary reading.
Though he said that some of the investment plans, to be financed by the borrowing bill, could proceed right away. Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong and Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt would take this into their consideration, he said.
He asserted that so far Kittiratt has never expressed any concerns on the delay in the borrowing bill deliberation.
Somchai Sajjapongse, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office, insisted that the infrastructure investment could go as planned even though the borrowing bill could not win parliamentary approval in this session.
An option is to allocate the 2014 budget to finance urgent projects such as the 10 mass transit routes in Bangkok and peripheral provinces. Construction in later years can be financed by the borrowing, he said.
The ministries of Finance and Transport are shortlisting such projects and they would be submitted to Kittiratt, in his capacity as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs.
