PHUKET : The cabinet yesterday approved in principle 117 development projects for five southern Andaman coastal provinces worth more than 84 billion baht.
Yingluck: Mulls medical centre plan
Of that, 59.26 billion baht is earmarked for 107 projects in the five provinces.
They are 47.68 billion baht for 67 projects in Phuket, 3.99 billion baht for 11 in Ranong, 3.81 billion baht for 13 projects in Phangnga, 3.43 billion baht for 10 in Krabi and 334 million baht for six projects in Trang.
Another 24.87 billion baht was approved for 10 mutual development projects among the five provinces.
Those include water resources, logistics and infrastructure development such as road networks and sea ports, tourism infrastructure improvement and promotion, and health care and education development.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was chairing the third mobile cabinet meeting at the rector's office on the Phuket campus of the Prince of Songkla University. Among the approved projects, 18 worth 1.43 billion baht for tourism development and disaster prevention in the five provinces which suffered severe damage from the 2004 tsunami would be the priority.
They include the 15-million-baht Chaloemphrakiat water retention park in Phuket, the 43-million-baht renovation and construction of the Tsunami Memorial Park in Phuket, the 18.4-million-baht water channel dredging project near Krabi-Koh Lanta pier in Krabi, the 30 million baht project for the development of a tourist port in Trang, and 37.54 million baht for sustainable flood prevention in Ranong.
Upon arriving at the meeting venue, Ms Yingluck was greeted by about 500 supporters, mostly elderly people clad in red shirts from Phatthalung province, and another group of people from Phatthalung led by Sanan Suphanchana, the president of Phatthalung Provincial Administration Organisation.
Mr Sanan's group handed to the prime minister a budget proposal for the construction of a medicine and medical service centre to be run by the Phatthalung campus of Thaksin University.
Mr Sanan said this project would address the shortage of medical personnel in the central southern provinces, especially Phatthalung, Satun, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Krabi.
Right now, patients have to travel to Songklanagarin Hospital in Songkhla's Hat Yai district to obtain such specialised medical services.
Meanwhile, representatives of medical professionals from Songklanagarin Hospital also handed the prime minister a petition asking the government to review the cabinet resolution during the Chuan Leekpai administration which terminated the recruitment of additional civil servants for agencies at Prince of Songkla University.
Since the resolution took effect, all new university staff members have been university employees. They are not entitled to receive the same welfare benefits as civil servants.
Opposition chief whip and Democrat party-list MP Jurin Laksanawisith, meanwhile, warned the Yingluck government not to spend excessive amounts of taxpayers' money on its mobile cabinet meetings as the Thaksin Shinawatra government had done before.
Mr Jurin said Thaksin held mobile cabinet meetings to gain popularity rather than achieve anything.