• 
• 

Published on November 16, 2007

"Thailand is destined to become a world centre for medical services and manufacturing," he said.

The PPP's economic package has three key aspects - the original mix of populist polices as championed by the disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party, a special mix of enhanced populist policies and a roadmap to boost the country's revenues.

From the original mix, the PPP has vowed to carry on popular schemes such as the Bt30 per-visit health care, the Village Fund, the two- and three-digit lotteries, the One Tambon, One Product project and the 10 new train routes for Bangkok.

In the special mix of enhanced policies, it will strive to achieve a four-fold increase in revenue from tourism, while aiming to cut costs of running populist schemes by fourfold.

In regard to the roadmap to boost revenues, it pins hopes on increasing tourist arrivals to finance mega projects instead of raising tax.

Based on the capacity of Suvarnabhumi Airport, tourist arrivals should rise from 11 mil?lion per year to 45 million with a projected annual revenue of Bt1.5 trillion to fill government coffers.

If elected to lead the next government, the PPP will implement many projects to attract foreign visitors within one year including those to highlight medical services.

In order to cut dependence on oil imports, the PPP plans for a 100 per cent conversion from petrol to biofuels such as gasohol.

The Nation