THAILAND PLANS $5.4B PUBLIC-PRIVATE PROJECTS THIS YEAR

Thailand plans 163 billion baht ($5.43 billion) of public-private infrastructure projects this year, a finance ministry official said, as the government tries to invest more to support long-term economic growth.

The projects include a subway line extension, a mass transit project and highways rest areas, Panthip Sripimon, head of the State Enterprise Policy Office, said in a statement. The government has planned public private partnership projects worth 1 trillion baht between 2020 and 2027, she said.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which is heavily reliant on tourism and exports, shrank 6.1% last year, the biggest drop in more than two decades, as the coronavirus pandemic hit global demand and travel.

The government expects the economy to grow between 2.5% and 3.5% this year, Kitiphong Thaichareon reported for Reuters from Bangkok.

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