High-speed railway, MRT Purple Line top govt spending for 2023: NESDC
The Thai-Chinese high-speed railway and the MRT Purple Line are among the top 10 construction projects with the highest investment budget allocated for fiscal 2023, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said.
The high-speed railway project, which links up Bangkok and Nong Khai on the border with Laos and requires a total investment of 209 billion baht, has been allocated 18.1 billion baht for next year.
The southern extension of Bangkok’s MRT Purple Line from Tao Poon to Rat Burana, which requires a total budget of 91.9 billion baht, has been allocated 10.6 billion baht.
These two are the top development projects that require the highest budget in fiscal 2023.
The others are the 20.7-billion-baht Rama III-Dao Khanong-Western Ring Road project, for which 8.6 billion baht will be spent next year, and the 17.3-billion-baht project to expand the Government Complex in Nonthaburi, for which 6.1 billion has been allocated. There is also the 42.5-billion-baht Mae Moh Power Plant’s Units 8-9, for which 5.2 billion has been allocated for next year.
Among the top 10 projects, five are related to transportation, three to utilities, and one each related to commercial service.
According to the NESDC, the top 10 projects require a total budget of 83.9 billion baht in the fiscal year 2023, accounting for 59.5% of all 65 important infrastructure development projects.
The total state budget for fiscal 2023 is 3.18 trillion baht, a 27% increase from the previous year. Of that, 2.52 trillion baht is for regular expenditures, a 0.6% drop from the previous year, and 664.6 billion baht is for investment, a 17.8% increase, according to the NESDC.
