Long-term land lease period set to double
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THE GOVERNMENT will speed up amending the land-lease law to extend the long-term lease period from 50 years to a maximum of 99 years, with the Finance Ministry earmarked as the first beneficiary of the move as it prepares to lease a huge plot in central B
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who chaired Monday’s meeting of the State Enterprise Policy Committee, had instructed the Transport and Interior ministries to fast-track the amendment to facilitate a permanent solution to the SRT’s financial problems, which has resulted from chronic losses.
The SRT will lease the prime plot in Makkasan to the Finance Ministry for 99 years. The ministry plans to develop commercial property projects worth a combined Bt61.8 billion there. In return, the Finance Ministry will write off the accumulated debts of the SRT, which are running to the tune of nearly Bt100 billion.
According to Kulit Sombatsiri, director-general of the State Enterprise Policy Office, the land-lease law for commercial and industrial development – BE 2542 – will have to be amended before the Finance Ministry can rent the SRT’s land plot for 99 years, since the current law only allows long-term leases of up to 50 years.
