New governor wants Bt2 bn from Abhisit govt

"This amount of money will be spent on boosting the capital's economy and tourism," he said.

Sukhumbhand said he was going to arrange a meeting with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva this week during which the request would be raised. Abhisit is the leader of the Democrat Party, which the new governor has long been a member of.

"By allocating the money to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), people will reach help sooner," Sukhumbhand insisted.

The city governor revealed he would also ask the Bangkok Metropolitan Council to approve a Bt3-billion budget for the same purpose.

On other measures to help with the weakening economic conditions, Sukhumbhand said he would try to expedite the disbursement of funds available under the 2009 fiscal budget for the city administration.

The 2009 fiscal year started last October.

"To date, just 17 per cent of the available budget has been disbursed," Sukhumbhand said.

He said he would also discuss with the Metropolitan Police on how best to expand areas for street stalls in the capital.

Currently, there are street stalls in more than 600 authorised zones in Bangkok.

"Perhaps, we can allocate some space inside the compounds of BMA agencies as weekend markets," Sukhunbhand suggested.