Non-state sources to fund half of Bt-2tn transport upgrade

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Non-state sources to fund half of Bt-2tn transport upgrade
BUSINESS REPORTERS

BANGKOK: -- THE GOVERNMENT will invest Bt2 trillion over eight years to upgrade the country's creaking transport networks for rail, road, airports and deep-sea ports.

Half of the funding will come from the government budget and half from other local and overseas sources.

These include state enterprises, infrastructure funds, public-private partnership (PPP) investments, and foreign banks, including those in Asean countries.

Finance Minister Sommai Phasee said at a public hearing held yesterday by the State Enterprise Policy Committee (SEPO) for the country's strategic transport master plan (2015-22) that the country would invest about Bt250 billion yearly during the eight-year plan.

About 10 per cent of the government's next fiscal budget would be spent on the country's basic infrastructure.

The country needs to accelerate its infrastructure capacity-building after it haa done little over the past 10 years, causing it to be placed poorly at 48th in an international ranking last year, he said.

Kulit Sombatsiri, director-general of SEPO, said that as of Friday, the office had received 68 PPP projects proposed by various ministries for combined investment of Bt2.07 trillion, of which 90 per cent were transport projects. The rest were related to communications, water management, irrigation, the environment, education, public health, and science and technology.

Bigger role for PPPs

From what SEPO has discussed with the Transport Ministry, the ministry expects to use PPPs for about Bt300 billion or 15 per cent of the total infrastructure spending plan, but SEPO believes PPPs could be increased to 20 per cent or Bt400 billion.

Among the additional projects for possible joint public-private investment are the Pink Line monorail and the Bangkok-Chiang Mai and Bangkok-Hua Hin high-speed rail projects.

Companies have expressed an interest in investing in them except for the land, which the government will have to procure for them.

SEPO will finalise and submit the overall plan to a committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devekula to consider on April 3, before forwarding it to the Cabinet for approval.

About 12-13 PPP-related laws have already been enacted, out of a total of 15 laws, so if the Cabinet approves the master plan, at least one PPP project could get off the ground this year.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Non-state-sources-to-fund-half-of-Bt-2tn-transport-30256607.html


-- The Nation 2015-03-24