Sepo eyes similar PPP approvals
The State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) expects its budget approval of public private partnerships (PPP) for next year will be similar to this year’s tally worth 340 billion baht.
The shorter time frame for PPP investment approvals, to nine months from two years, has accelerated the approval rate to exceed the 47 billion baht per year as specified in the PPP Strategic Plan, said Sepo director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas.
The government cannot allocate its budget for all infrastructure investment projects because some funds are needed for social development and social security, said Mr Ekniti. Partnering with the private sector helps boost efficiency in investment projects, he said.
The PPP fast-track system will be adopted for PPP projects in Thailand’s special economic zones to accelerate the approval process, said Mr Ekniti. These projects include a high-speed train connecting Suvarnabhumi airport, U-tapao airport, and Don Mueang airport, development of Laem Chabang seaport, and development of U-tapao seaport.
For PPP projects included in fiscal 2018, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak also wants to cover social development projects such as building hospitals and schools, housing for low-income earners, and purchasing medical equipment, he said. PPP investment terms will be applied to these projects, with the private sectors’ benefits taken into account.
Regarding revision of the PPP law on switching from specifying the PPP investment procedure to making the legislature support PPP investment, the process is expected to receive cabinet approval this quarter, said Mr Ekniti.
The investment budget of state-owned enterprises, excluding their subsidiaries, in fiscal 2018 stands at 506 billion baht, up from 345 billion in fiscal 2017.
If the investment budget of state-owned enterprises’ subsidiaries are included, the number for fiscal 2018 is around 800 billion baht.
The government set a disbursement target for investment budgets of stateowned enterprises at 95% for fiscal 2018, up from an 85% actual disbursement rate for the previous fiscal year.
But year-on-year expansion in investment capital of state-owned enterprises for fiscal 2017 had risen by 20%, higher than the 10% target, said Mr Ekniti.
For PPP investment projects included in fiscal 2017 to 2021, 55 projects within the pipeline were valued at 1.62 trillion baht. Of these, 31 are telecommunication projects worth 1.52 trillion, eight are economic projects worth 60 billion, and 16 are social development projects worth 37 billion.