A transport strategy committee has approved a 3-trillion-baht infrastructure development plan, adding more than a trillion baht to the infrastructure spending projects planned by the previous government.
The chief casualty of the junta's 3-trillion-baht transportation megaproject will be the high-speed train network envisioned by Chinese Premier Li Keqian during his official visit to Thailand last October. (File photo by Chanat Katanyu)
The committee, chaired by transport permanent secretary Somchai Siriwattanachoke, on Wednesday resolved to forward the new spending plan to National Council for Peace and Order deputy chief Prajin Juntong, who is in charge of economic affairs, for consideration on June 19.
The committee, which falls under the Transport Ministry, drafted the plan which retains most of the land infrastructure development projects devised under the 2-trillion-baht loan scheme of the ousted former government.
It also involves new projects for aviation and water transport infrastructure improvement projects.
The junta earlier decided to axe 800 billion baht worth of high-speed train projects from the original 2-trillion-baht scheme, saying they were not feasible.
The exclusion of the high-speed train projects reduced the value of the scheme to 1.2 trillion baht.
But the additional water and aviation infrastructure projects proposed by the committee mean the cost of the comprehensive development scheme has now ballooned to 3 trillion baht.
Mr Somchai said the development scheme would be implemented between next year and 2022.
He said ACM Prajin would look at the proposed spending on June 19, and the plan presented to him would have to contain precise details of the costs per year.
He said ACM Prajin had asked that the infrastructure development plan be expanded from land transport projects to include aviation and water transport as well.
The earlier 2-trillion-baht scheme dealt mostly with road expansion and railway construction projects.
Mr Somchai said most of the new costs stemmed from aviation infrastructure development plans.
Chula Sukmanop, director-general of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, said the new projects would be an extension of the original 2-trillion-baht scheme.
The new-look programme will take the form of an infrastructure development master plan requiring investment from related state enterprises.
After the NCPO has finished considering the 3-trillion-baht programme, the ministry will discuss with the Budget Bureau the procurement and allocation of funds for the projects.
Ranked high on the large-scale infrastructure spending are dual-track railways along six routes, covering a total of 1,364 kilometres at a total cost of 140 billion baht.
Mr Chula earlier said the mass-transit routes and some dual-track railways should rely on domestic and foreign loans.
The additional water and aviation infrastructure projects include the building of a seaport, the phase-two expansion of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports, and construction of new air traffic control facilities.
The aviation infrastructure programme will also involve the purchase of new aircraft for Thai Airways International.
Shown below is the final plan submitted by the Yingluck government before the street protests, House dissolutuion and the military coup. Junta authorities have reportedly scrapped the high-speed trains but added other land, sea and air infrastructure facilities.
