Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has promised to drag Thailand out of its so-called "middle-income trap" with massive investments in megaprojects.
The middle-income trap is an economic term for when a country's growth plateaus and eventually stagnates after reaching middle-income levels.
Ms Yingluck yesterday said Thailand had not completed any major infrastructure projects for several years. Its latest development project was Suvarnabhumi airport seven years ago.
Her government is investing in infrastructure to increase national competitiveness and potential.
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Large-scale investments will continue for the next seven years, she added.
She hopes the investments will create jobs and boost people's incomes, reduce the income gap among Thais, eradicate poverty and strengthen businesses including small and medium enterprises.
The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) expects Thailand to break out of its middle-income trap in 10-15 years based on present forecasts.
A middle-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a country with a gross national per capita income of between US$1,026 and $12,475. A high-income economy is one with a per capita income of $12,476 and above.
According to a source at the Finance Ministry, per capita income in Thailand is $4,000-5,000 a year while in Malaysia it is $9,700 and in Singapore, $46,910.
Malaysia is in the latter stage of its middle-income trap and hopes to leave it for the upper-income category in 2020.
A departure from the middle-income trap requires huge investments, research and development including boosts in technology, and infrastructure.
Ms Yingluck announced her government's intentions at a meeting in Bangkok where she introduced national strategies and budgetary plans to heads of governmental organisations and state enterprises yesterday.
Leading Thailand out of its middle-income trap is among her four national strategies.
The others are the promotion of equality, enhancing the quality of life and environmental conservation, and improving national administration.
Ms Yingluck said her government was trying to boost people's incomes by promoting agro-industry, tourism, the service sector and the zoning of land use in the country. She told the meeting her government had faced challenges over the past year. These included economic fluctuations, pressure from European countries over democracy and equality issues, imbalances in the economy and insufficient social security.
However, she said government organisations had joined forces and succeeded in improving the national economy rapidly. Consequently, the country's foreign exchange reserves now amounted to 48% of gross domestic product (GDP) which she said is higher than expected.
Ms Yingluck also predicted Thailand's GDP will grow by 5.5% this year. Inflation is running at a normal 3% and she wants the Commerce Ministry and the Finance Ministry to cap it at this level.
She also mentioned her government was cutting the budget deficit from 400 billion baht and taking steps to reduce unemployment.
Sompop Manarangsan, president of the Panyapiwat Institute of Management, said Thailand should switch from being an original equipment manufacturer to an original technology manufacturer or an original brand manufacturer, develop its human resources, upgrade itself to become a supply chain hub, move its production of parts or raw materials to neighbouring countries where production costs are low, and promote food and healthcare services.