BANGKOK, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Kobsak Pootrakool, deputy secretary-general to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, said on Monday that the government plans to allocate 17 billion baht (557.3 million U.S. dollars) for the development of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in fiscal 2020 as it wants to speed up investment in the region, especially in transport.
"A part of the budget would be used for investment in the high-speed rail project, we are not waiting for the public-private partnership contract to be signed," said Kobsak.
Kobsak said the Department of Highways of the Ministry of Transport will get the largest share of the budget of 9.9 billion baht (324,705,150 million U.S. dollars), followed by 1.3 billion baht (42,638,050 U.S. dollars) for the National Science and Technology Development Agency.
The Rural Roads department will receive 1.2 billion baht ( 42,638,050 U.S. dollars), the Royal Thai Navy 799 million baht (26,207,200 U.S. dollars) and the EEC Office 752 million baht (24,665,600 U.S. dollars).
Educational institutions will also get funding, as they will play a critical role in human resource development for the EEC where an estimated 450,000 highly skilled labour force will be needed over a year, Kobsak said.
The government will also provide funding to support the three provinces in the EEC.
The budget bill for fiscal 2020 will be deliberated by the Thai Parliament later.
