Parliament will have time to analyse Bt2-tn loan bill: transport minister

The Bt2-trillion borrowing bill for the planned transport-infrastructure mega-project is set for review by Parliament late this month after the debates on the fiscal budget and the charter amendments. This will leave adequate time for Parliament to review the positive and negative aspects of the borrowing bill, which has more details than the other two issues, Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt said. 

The infrastructure borrowing bill is vital to Thailand’s long-term economic development and prosperity, and would boost foreign investors’ confidence in this country. The benefits outweigh the drawbacks, said the minister, who does not want this issue to be hampered by politics.

This is the time for parliamentarians to work together for the benefit of the country, he said. Many projects under this bill were originated by previous governments. In the past, he said, he has tried his best to provide answers to all inquiries and worked on reducing the deficiencies. Hence it would be great if other political parties voted in support of this bill. 

According to Chadchart, Thailand really needs to develop its infrastructure, and this borrowing bill will significantly expedite the needed projects as opposed to funding by fiscal-budget allocations that caused unnecessary delays for previous projects. 

In any case, if the borrowing bill fails to gather adequate support from Parliament, fiscal budgets will have to be allocated to proceed with the projects, as Thailand cannot afford to suspend them, he said. 

 

Early projects 

Projects that are ready to be launched, such as the four-lane road expansions and the dual-track railway work, can proceed before others. However, before the high-speed-rail project can begin, environmental impact assessments have to be concluded, Chadchart added. 

Fiscal Policy Office director-general Somchai Satchapong believes the borrowing bill, which would grant authority for the Finance Ministry to secure loans to fund the various transport-related projects, will sail through Parliament. However, if lawmakers’ approval cannot be secured in this session, the government has plans to ensure the projects can proceed without disruption. 

The Finance Ministry has consulted the Transport Ministry on details to be submitted to Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong for review soon. 

Somchai said the priority projects, on which construction must proceed without delay, consist of the 10 railway routes that will be initially funded by allocations from the fiscal 2014 budget and later by the Bt2-trillion borrowing bill. 

Meanwhile, the government’s four economic stimulus measures for this year should help boost growth in gross domestic product by 1 percentage point from the previous target of 4-4.5 per cent to 5-5.5 per cent, he said. All the stimulus measures should come on stream in the next one or two months. 

Measures related to the Finance Ministry will be issued first. The sluggish global economy is affecting Thai exports, while border trade continues to grow at a rate that could reach double digits this year, on robust trade with Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, Somchai added.