NIDA backs Bt2-tn loan bill as crucial for logistics under AEC
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The National Institute of Development Administration says it supports the Bt2-trillion loan bill, as it will secure a comparative logistics advantage for Thailand as it enters the Asean Economic Community in 2015.
Montree Sotiyanuluck, director of the Master of Public Administration programme, said yesterday that the bill, which grants the Finance Ministry authority to secure loans to finance the government’s transport infrastructure projects, was vital to Thailand’s ability to compete with Asean nations in tourism as well as commercial and investment activities amid the AEC environment.
Thailand enjoys a geographical advantage, as one hour of flight time from Bangkok covers a population of 300 million, while three hours cover a billion and five hours cover India and China with a combined population of 3.1 billion.
Thailand needs to have all the basic infrastructure in place to serve as a gateway to other Asean nations, or to China and India, by land, sea and air, he said.
Financing for the mega-projects could be via an infrastructure fund, or joint investment between the public and private sectors.
Public debt to gross domestic product is at an acceptable level of 44.5 per cent, Montree noted. The Bt2-billion loan bill would raise the public debt level to 50 per cent of GDP, which is still considered financially stable, he added.
