NCPO's economic board approves 3 trillion baht infrastructure projects

[webfact]

NCPO's economic board approves 3 trillion baht infrastructure projects



BANGKOK: -- The economic advisory committee of the National Council for Peace and Order has approved in principle the Transport Ministry’s three trillion baht infrastructure development projects, excluding high-speed trains, for the years 2015-2022.

Transport permanent secretary Somchai Siriwattanachoke explained Thursday that the strategic infrastructure development projects proposed by the Transport Ministry cost one trillion baht more than the earlier ones initiated by the Yingluck government even without the high-speed train projects because air transport development projects were included in the revised plan.

The revised plan for the infrastructure development projects covers dual track rail, ten electric train lines, development of highways and roads of the Highways and Rural Highways departments, construction of piers and dredging of waterways.

Mr Somchai said that the meeting of the advisory committee decided to drop the high-speed train projects because they are considered as not of priority importance and need not be implemented for now and if they are proven to be necessary in the future, more funding can be sought for their implementation.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ncpos-economic-board-approves-3-trillion-baht-infrastructure-projects/

-- Thai PBS 2014-06-13

[rubl]

Now waiting for more information on how those 3 trillion Baht will be budgetted. I would assume a larger part of it spread over the 2015 - 2022 yearly National Budgets.

[doctorproc156]

For one I'm glad they put the high speed rail on hold and is instead dual tracking and electrifying the existing meter gauge system. Looking at the success of Malaysia's Electric Train Service, this is all that's needed for now.

[canopus1969]

But staying with the metre gauge is not the way to go - change to standard gauge while they are spending all this money

[ginjag]

Now waiting for more information on how those 3 trillion Baht will be budgetted. I would assume a larger part of it spread over the 2015 - 2022 yearly National Budgets.

Rube, Excluding high speed Hi So BKK Chiang Mai service----YES Good. All that money to be got to be paid back over 50 years has been halted.

Out of national budgets and "private" no 50 year debt that the Shins had planned. They would have been well in the trough and then sod Thailand, who would have had this interest to pay back...it would have totally ruined the Kingdom.

[doctorproc156]

But staying with the metre gauge is not the way to go - change to standard gauge while they are spending all this money

No. All of south east asia already uses meter gauge, it would cost a lot more than this, all of the current rolling stock still have a use, new meter gauge electric multiple units can run up to 180 km/h which is more than enough for now, High speed rail lines are the standard gauge lines and they are to serve a slightly different alignment.

[Chao Lao Beach]

What is the standard gauge you refer to, just curious ?

Is there a standard in Asia yet ?

I dare say it would be logical for trains to be able to cross borders.

Edited June 13, 2014 by Chao Lao Beach

[ginjag]

But staying with the metre gauge is not the way to go - change to standard gauge while they are spending all this money

I agree BUT the problem is tapering the line down to Malaysia width and Laos.

I wonder if Malaysia and Thailand could find a way round this-- could they be widened moving one rail in the future. (this is a super-stupid idea I know )

[Mango Bob]

They should plan now to have an extension tracks added for Phuket also

[Hawk]

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

[doctorproc156]

But staying with the metre gauge is not the way to go - change to standard gauge while they are spending all this money

I agree BUT the problem is tapering the line down to Malaysia width and Laos.

I wonder if Malaysia and Thailand could find a way round this-- could they be widened moving one rail in the future. (this is a super-stupid idea I know )

This is the Japanese free gauge train 3rd generation model just released this year. It can switch it's gauge width between meter gauge and standard gauge. These trains are a solution to the problem for passenger transport, but no one has yet engineered such a system which is robust enough for freight train systems to switch between gauges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_Change_Train

[huahinjoe]

Suddenly everybody is doing the right thing

Yes, lets make once for all a proper nationwide dual track and electric rail system which is lays on proper foundation, have ISO standards and well maintained. Must reach each major tourist destination. Glad they dropped the high speed train idea for now.

[ginjag]

They should plan now to have an extension tracks added for Phuket also

Train passenger on the Phuket train asked the conductor " does this train stop at Phucket" the conductor said " if it doesn't there will be the biggest splash you've ever seen "

[tim armstrong]

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

I don't think they need that. They don't have seven other parties and a whole lot of piggies to please. Thailand's economics have been and are sound with or without Thaksin. The difference with the current management is that they are doing just that - managing, making decisions, and clearly freeing up some senior policy makers who have been waiting for this change, who contrary to common perceptions are not all corrupt.

[cooked]

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

Deary me. Under the Thaksin way of doing things, up to 30% of budgets 'disappeared' which is why some much substandard work was getting done (not something that should happen with high speed trains) and also why some many stupid schemes (useless tablets for school children, rice scheme, and, and...) have been done away with. Most of us are hoping that the military will introduce strict accounting into future projects avoiding most of this rubbish.

The project is NOT virtually the same as before. The budget that was going to be allocated was a special one which means that no transparent accounting would have been done. The high speed train project is not needed and was very expensive. (฿2.2 BILLION).

Edited June 13, 2014 by cooked

[doctorproc156]

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

aaah but the difference sonny is that yingys 2trillion baht loan didnt have to say where the money was spent..no checks and balances..but i guess you forgot that little chestnut eh

So you're saying a military dictatorship is better at spending money than an elected government where opposition members of parliament have a chance to look at and debate the bills out in the open? Oh dear me some of the readers on this forum have really lost it....

[Just1Voice]

Yingluck administration using 2 trillion and putting country in debt for next 50 years = BAD.

NCPO approving 3 trillion = Good.

I'm confused.

[Hawk]

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

I don't think they need that. They don't have seven other parties and a whole lot of piggies to please. Thailand's economics have been and are sound with or without Thaksin. The difference with the current management is that they are doing just that - managing, making decisions, and clearly freeing up some senior policy makers who have been waiting for this change, who contrary to common perceptions are not all corrupt.

Can the army run and manage the country? I think not, that's why they are soldiers in the first place, no head for business affairs. And the public are not soldiers, therefore the General cannot enforce the army's rigid discipline on ordinary folk. Was the last coup deemed a success? No! Just another dismal failure in a long line of failures.

Unfortunately everyone in Thailand has in him or her the potential to be corrupt, its simply part of their culture.

[ginjag]

Yingluck administration using 2 trillion and putting country in debt for next 50 years = BAD.

NCPO approving 3 trillion = Good.

I'm confused.

2 problems it was expected that PTPs trillions -large amounts would have gone into the bottomless pit --the second was they just wanted to borrow over 50 years whether Thailand could afford it they didn't care.

This money will go much further-(without the high speed trains) and could well mean better construction/materials used, accounts kept and contracts/guarantees.

The money would be funded from national / private funds over the ( 7 years) ??? No other ways to borrow we could not afford.

[Hawk]

Yingluck administration using 2 trillion and putting country in debt for next 50 years = BAD.

NCPO approving 3 trillion = Good.

I'm confused.

The army has no imagination, so they are trying to make things right by simply copying other peoples ideas. Disaster of course is looming on the horizon as it always does with these wasteful coups. Dictatorship or free elections, Thailand is in a perpetual loop to continuously repeat the same mistakes forever.

[noitom]

The lack of transparency is astounding. If anyone actually tried to figure out what is going on here in Thailand it would be impossible. There is no transparency and accountability. Come to think of it, when was the Thai army ever "accountable?"

[ginjag]

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

I don't think they need that. They don't have seven other parties and a whole lot of piggies to please. Thailand's economics have been and are sound with or without Thaksin. The difference with the current management is that they are doing just that - managing, making decisions, and clearly freeing up some senior policy makers who have been waiting for this change, who contrary to common perceptions are not all corrupt.

Can the army run and manage the country? I think not, that's why they are soldiers in the first place, no head for business affairs. And the public are not soldiers, therefore the General cannot enforce the army's rigid discipline on ordinary folk. Was the last coup deemed a success? No! Just another dismal failure in a long line of failures.

Unfortunately everyone in Thailand has in him or her the potential to be corrupt, its simply part of their culture.

The General has the country at his disposal anyone he feels fit to get sound advice from, these persons do NOT have to come from the military background.

This is the difference, the Shins would have picked family/school pals/friends of. You think this was better ???? they had 3 years to try and robbed/failed miserably. The word is Selfish, that describes PTP

[ginjag]

The lack of transparency is astounding. If anyone actually tried to figure out what is going on here in Thailand it would be impossible. There is no transparency and accountability. Come to think of it, when was the Thai army ever "accountable?"

Quote "There ( is) no accountability" WAS is better.

[Gunna]

For one I'm glad they put the high speed rail on hold and is instead dual tracking and electrifying the existing meter gauge system. Looking at the success of Malaysia's Electric Train Service, this is all that's needed for now.

I agree with sticking to existing Meter gauge and fix the current tracks and trains. It is then the same guage as Malaysia. Myanmar, Cambodia , Vietnam and the short section into Laos. If Thailand changes then all freight with have to change trains with it's neigbours.

Later if Thailand introduces high speed passenger trains they will need to be on dedicated new railway lines ( can you imagine the crashes if they have slower freight trains running on the same tracks as high speed trains ) and then can be Standard gauge and much easier for passengers to change trains at the borders as they have to go through passport control & customs anyway.

[nkg]

The project is NOT virtually the same as before. The budget that was going to be allocated was a special one which means that no transparent accounting would have been done. The high speed train project is not needed and was very expensive. (฿2.2 BILLION).

I don't know, 2.2 Billion Baht for a high-speed train sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Was it a high-speed model railway?

[ginjag]

Yingluck administration using 2 trillion and putting country in debt for next 50 years = BAD.

NCPO approving 3 trillion = Good.

I'm confused.

The army has no imagination, so they are trying to make things right by simply copying other peoples ideas. Disaster of course is looming on the horizon as it always does with these wasteful coups. Dictatorship or free elections, Thailand is in a perpetual loop to continuously repeat the same mistakes forever.

Did the PTP have imagination ??? they are surely NOT copying PTP, disaster loomed on the horizon over the last 3 years for sure.

The biggest mess has just been halted--but your doom and gloom over the clean up tell me you are still in denial of corrupt government----accept the better future, we were not getting that from Yingluck.

[Stradavarius37]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

aaah but the difference sonny is that yingys 2trillion baht loan didnt have to say where the money was spent..no checks and balances..but i guess you forgot that little chestnut eh alt=thumbsup.gif>

So you're saying a military dictatorship is better at spending money than an elected government where opposition members of parliament have a chance to look at and debate the bills out in the open? Oh dear me some of the readers on this forum have really lost it....

In Thailand? Absolutely lol. And your assertion that "opposition members of parliament have a chance to look at and debate the bills out in the open" is your Alzheimers showing. Dem MPs were given little to no opportunity to do so, and their comments and suggestions were ignored...but please feel free to try to whitewash history...

[rubl]

After the usual excursions let's go back to the OP which only says

"approved in principle the Transport Ministry’s three trillion baht infrastructure development projects, excluding high-speed trains, for the years 2015-2022."

No details on budgets, National Budgets, etc., etc.

At least earlier this week (or was it last week) it was indicated that the dual tracking would be included in the yearly National Budgets as was done before the Yingluck 'amazing Thailand' tricks with extra parliamentary budgets.

[doctorproc156]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

aaah but the difference sonny is that yingys 2trillion baht loan didnt have to say where the money was spent..no checks and balances..but i guess you forgot that little chestnut eh alt=thumbsup.gif>

So you're saying a military dictatorship is better at spending money than an elected government where opposition members of parliament have a chance to look at and debate the bills out in the open? Oh dear me some of the readers on this forum have really lost it....

In Thailand? Absolutely lol. And your assertion that "opposition members of parliament have a chance to look at and debate the bills out in the open" is your Alzheimers showing. Dem MPs were given little to no opportunity to do so, and their comments and suggestions were ignored...but please feel free to try to whitewash history...

Then the Democrats should use this fact that PTP isn't tabling the bills openly enough in parliament and go into the rural heartlands and campaign showing with clear evidence from parliament. There is no way on earth a 1 party military dictatorship operating without a constitution is better than bills being passed in parliament, this has absolutely 0 transparency. I am really lost for words with some people on this forum.

[slipperx]

Of course the Yingluck 3 trillion infracture project was pure wastefulness, well that was the claim the other day, wasn't it?

Now the army approves the same project more or less, so the rightful government's projects get approved after all and quicker than as expected as well.

Soon the army will be asking for guidance from the Shinawatra clan as how to run the country prosperously, after all the country did well economically under Thaksin even if some of you hate to admit it.

aaah but the difference sonny is that yingys 2trillion baht loan didnt have to say where the money was spent..no checks and balances..but i guess you forgot that little chestnut eh alt=thumbsup.gif>

So you're saying a military dictatorship is better at spending money than an elected government where opposition members of parliament have a chance to look at and debate the bills out in the open? Oh dear me some of the readers on this forum have really lost it....

In Thailand? Absolutely lol. And your assertion that "opposition members of parliament have a chance to look at and debate the bills out in the open" is your Alzheimers showing. Dem MPs were given little to no opportunity to do so, and their comments and suggestions were ignored...but please feel free to try to whitewash history...

Then the Democrats should use this fact that PTP isn't tabling the bills openly enough in parliament and go into the rural heartlands and campaign showing with clear evidence from parliament. There is no way on earth a 1 party military dictatorship operating without a constitution is better than bills being passed in parliament, this has absolutely 0 transparency. I am really lost for words with some people on this forum.

So you are suggesting that the ordinary voter is going to be able to decipher and understand the shenanigans played by the PTP? Understand the innermost workings of politics while chewing and spitting out their betel nuts and eating grubs? Yeah right! Not.

Thailand needs to keep investing on its infrastructure because right now this is the only thing differentiating it from its neighbors who are still decades behind and hamstrung by their political mindset. But they are waking up and encouraging foreigners to settle and invest. It is a snowball growing that will eventually swallow Thailand whole unless the Thais wake up and adopt a less introverted and xenophobic attitude which will take a while to sink in. In the meantime taking action to improve the existing rail system is a worthwhile benefit to all - not the high speed project which was all for show and corruption and no substance. The water and air transport improvements may also prove to have a positive cost benefit analysis.

More transparency and details would be good to.