รัฐบาลไทย-ข่าวทำเนียบรัฐบาล-​Deputy Govt Spokesperson: Govt makes Thailand a “Decade of Sustainable Development”
วันอังคารที่ 22 สิงหาคม 2566
​Deputy Govt Spokesperson: Govt makes Thailand a “Decade of Sustainable Development”
​Deputy Govt Spokesperson: Govt makes Thailand a “Decade of Sustainable Development”
August 21, 2023, Deputy Government Spokesperson Tipanan Sirichana stated that the Government under Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha’s leadership has made Thailand a “Decade of Sustainable Development”. Its accomplishments in laying strong foundation for the Thai people of the present and future generations are visible through infrastructure development projects in all dimensions. The aim is to spread prosperity across all regions and elevate people’s quality of life.
Infrastructure networks developed by the Government include the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in Chachoengsao, Chonburi, and Rayong provinces; Special Economic Zones along the border areas in Tak, Mukdaharn, Sakaeo, Trat, Songkhla, Chiang Rai, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom, Kanchanaburi, and Narathiwat provinces; and economic corridors in the 4 regions, namely, Northern Economic Corridor (Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lamphun provinces), Northeastern Economic Corridor (Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, and Nong Khai provinces), Central - Western Economic Corridor (Nakhon Pathom, Ayutthaya, Suphan Buri, and Kanchanaburi provinces), and Southern Economic Corridor (Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani, and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces).
With regard to aviation infrastructure, airports across the country have either been renovated or newly built to accommodate passenger and goods transport, i.e., new Suvarnabhumi airport terminal, U-Tapao Airport and Eastern Aviation City Project, Betong Airport, Krabi Airport, Khon Kaen Airport, Trang Airport, Nakhon Phanom Airport, and Sakon Nakorn Airport.
Waterway infrastructure developed by the Government are: Map Ta Phut Port and Laem Chabang Deep Seaport, whereas the total distance of roadway across the country has increased to over 12,000 km. Land infrastructure projects developed by the Government also include 3 motorways, namely, 1) Bang Pa-in – Korat; 2) Bang Yai – Kanchanaburi; and 3) Pattaya – Map Ta Phut, a total distance of 260 km.; a new Songkhla Lake bridge and bridges connecting with neighboring countries; 12 MRT Lines, and Highway 12 which is a part of the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC), a route that links four mainland Southeast Asian countries, from Myanmar in the West to Vietnam in the East. Additionally, rail network has been extended to a total distance of 4,044 km, covering 47 provinces, Rail projects developed during the Government are 14 double-track routes, 10 new rail routes, 8 high-speed rail routes, and High-Speed Rail Linking Three Airports.
The Government also determines to push forward national development projects in other dimensions. Apart from transport infrastructure projects, as mentioned above, the Government managed to address national airline crisis, and develop complete digital telecommunication and internet network, PromptPay system, THEOS-2 (Thailand’s second satellite system for earth observation), and THEOS-2A (the country’s small observation optical satellite), as well as Thailand's first tokamak device for fusion energy research, and a feasibility study of spaceport.
According to the Deputy Government Spokesperson, all these accomplishments are recognized through global rankings by international organizations. In the World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index (LPI), Thailand ranks 9th with several other countries (i.e., Greece, Israel, Malta, and UK), with the country’s infrastructure score at 3.7. According to the Sustainable Development Report 2022, Thailand ranks 44th among 163 countries worldwide and 1st in ASEAN for 4 consecutive years on the progress towards SDGs. The country remains in the “very high human development” category of UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) for 3 consecutive years since 2019.
The Government under Prime Minister Prayut also plans ahead on ensuring national prosperity and security. In 2022, the Bank of Thailand's foreign reserves remain in solid condition at $240 billion, representing 48% of the country's GDP, with the total ranking of 12th globally. The country also saw an increase in gold reserves in the last decade, increasing by 60.20% from 152.41 to 244.16 tons. In addition, Fitch and S&P affirm Thailand at 'BBB+' with stable outlook, whereas Moody’s rates the country at Baa1, also with stable outlook.
The Deputy Government Spokesperson added that the decade of stable and sustainable development as a result of efficient and transparent national administration is all for the sake of Thailand and the Thai people.