Cabinet to consider development projects for Phuket
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Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will chair Tuesday's cabinet meeting in Phuket, during which a provincial agenda of development projects totalling Bt48 billion are likely to be considered.
Phuket is submitting 66 development projects worth Bt47.68 billion for consideration by the cabinet. These include a light rail project around the island and a route linking the Phuket international airport to the city centre, together worth more than Bt25 billion.
Other projects are the Patong Tunnel estimated at Bt5.5 billion, which would link Patong Beach with Kathu district and the Green Phuket project, worth Bt175 million, which aims to promote the use of alternative energy.
These three projects require cabinet approval in principle. Eleven other projects come in at less than Bt100 million each.
On Monday evening, the premier chaired a Regional Joint Public/Private Sector Consultative Committee meeting and discussed development projects for five coastal Andaman Sea provinces - Ranong, Krabi, Phang Nga, Trang and Phuket – as proposed by the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking of the three private institutions (JSCCIB): the Board of Trade of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Thai Bankers' Association.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na Ranong told reporters that the meeting discussed a wide range of projects including the expansion of Highway No 4 along the coast of the Andaman Sea and a dual track railway to the southern provinces (Bangkok-Chumphon-Su-ngai Kolok- Padang Besar) aimed for completion by 2017.
The Asean Connectivity principle, he said, should be taken into consideration
Other projects include a study on the feasibility to develop Phuket international, Krabi and Trang airports, measures to promote the para wood industry, an artificial coral project to restore coral reefs, and tourism industry development.
Kittiratt said the prime minister noted at the meeting that the Andaman coastal provinces, particularly Phuket, have strong potential for tourism and are already well-known tourism destinations worldwide, generating Bt100 billion of income to the country.
She called for cooperation between the private sector and residents in helping to maintain the provinces' status as world class destinations.
