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Published on September 5, 2007

That amendment raises the threshold for projects requiring government scrutiny and Cabinet approval from Bt1 billion now to Bt3 billion.

"We raised the value for projects because we and the NESDB [National Economic and Social Development Board] consider an average of Bt3 billion to be a big project," said Public Debt Management Office director-general Pongpanu Svetarundra, referring to evaluations by both the Finance Ministry and the NESDB.

Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said the amendment was designed to prevent politicians from circumventing the existing 1992 Act for personal gain.

Several projects approved by the Thaksin Shinawatra government are now being reviewed by the Council of State for possible violations of the Act.

Under the Act, the NESDB appraises project proposals, while the Finance Ministry oversees ongoing projects, but the amendment requires reviews by both agencies before a project proposal can be forwarded for Cabinet approval.

The NESDB would look into the economic and social returns of a project, and the Finance Ministry would evaluate the financial aspects, or value for money.

Coverage would include projects that create contingent liabilities for the state budget, such as turnkey projects, in which a private firm puts up the capital, and the state compensates the firm after completion of the project.

The Finance Ministry would issue guidelines for state agencies and private firms to follow for projects under the public-private-partnership model. The ministry would also set clear rules to estimate the value of the project.

Pongpanu said the new law would also provide flexibility, because the ministry and the NESDB would have 60 days to decide whether to allow a project. In other developments, Chalongphob said he could not

submit the draft amendment to the Currency Act to the National Legislative Assembly next Wednesday as planned. The ministry will submit the draft later after some changes have been made, he said.

Under the draft, the Bank of Thailand cannot use its special reserve account to back up new currency in circulation. The movement of exchange rates would not be taken into account when the bank calculates profit and loss for its operations.

Deputy Finance Ministry Sommai Phasee said the ministry asked the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly to reconsider its tobacco-production relocation plan. The new plant site is expected to change from Chiang Mai to Saraburi, he said.

Wichit Chaitrong

 The Nation