Megaprojects yes, but cui bono?

COMMENTARY

Published: 29 Jan 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Two trillion baht is a lot of money. It can buy about 17 Suvarnabhumi airports. Even spread over a period of seven years, which is what the government is proposing, it still amounts to spending of about 280 billion baht a year. That would be enough to buy another nine Red Line electric train routes, at an estimated 30 billion baht per line.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra surprised critics of her public speaking skills when she took firm control during an event to unveil national strategy early last week. Speaking solo for a couple of hours, Ms Yingluck delineated where the country stands and where it will be heading over the next five years.

What the PM said hit home. Thailand has lost its competitiveness compared to other countries in the region because we stopped investing in infrastructure many years ago _ when the political problems flared up in 2006 actually. The IMD World Competitive Yearbook showed that Thailand has dropped from No.27 in 2011 to No.30 in 2012, several points below Malaysia and almost in a different league entirely to Singapore.

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boontong
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Discussion 14 : 29 Jan 2013 at 18.2914
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cui bono? For all Thias and businesses that are willing to work hard, not skeptical, and not cynical but take the opportunity to move Thailand into progress and prosperity.
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O000o
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Discussion 13 : 29 Jan 2013 at 17.1213
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I dont want to sound pessimistic but all this money and projects will be useless if the mental set doesn't change. So the investment will simply make the rich richer and even more childish and arrogant and the poor even more. If ht infrastructure are done and mantein as the existing ones...snif, snif...who cares! it will be just another big business from a few
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facts_only
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Discussion 12 : 29 Jan 2013 at 11.0712
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"Two trillion baht is a lot of money. It can buy about 17 Suvarnabhumi airports...Two trillion baht will create a lot of opportunities and improvements. But the question remains _ for whom?"

"Aviation contributed THB139 billion ($4.48 billion) to the Thai GDP, or 1.5% of the total, through the output of airlines, airports, ground services, their supply chains and the spending of those employed in the sector and in the supply chains. This number rises to THB818 billion or 9% of GDP when its contribution to the tourism sector was factored in." - ATW, April 25, 2012
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djay
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Discussion 11 : 29 Jan 2013 at 10.3211
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When you reach a point where only 10 or 11 countries in the world have a worse income equality gap as your country (Thailand), just maybe you should start to look into that.
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jwatch
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Discussion 10 : 29 Jan 2013 at 09.2710
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Nice, hope this helps the traffic situation!
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dao
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Discussion 9 : 29 Jan 2013 at 09.129
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I think people want infrastructure but worry about PT being given that much money especially since the airport had to be downsized to massive corruption and that amount was much smaller .Land redistribution would be great but she wont discuss that .The land should be returned to organic farming .The pesticides and herbicides used now make growing more expensive and reduce soil quality .
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Eric
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Discussion 8 : 29 Jan 2013 at 08.378
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There are some inconsistency in the article besides the figures. The article points out the country deficits and losing our competitive edge which the PM is bold to admit. Yet you creat doubt by saying cui bono. Thailand has not have a serious infrastructure project since Suvarnabumi. With AEC, Mynmar and fast developing Indo-China, the infrastructure projects by the government are critical to catch up and to tap the benefits. Obviously it is to creat wealth and betterment of our people and chance to move up our per capital income and out of the middle income trap.
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Victor
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Discussion 7 : 29 Jan 2013 at 08.187
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The writer should be extra careful when citing statistics, especially in an article of this nature.
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justfacts
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Discussion 6 : 29 Jan 2013 at 07.246
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your statement or quote if it is "- how the richest in the country have an income that is 11.4 times higher than that of the poorest, and so on." surely some zero's have been left out
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pete
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Discussion 5 : 29 Jan 2013 at 06.395
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“….more than 90% of land ownership (about 120 million rai around the country) belongs to only about 10% of the population”.

Such a figure is simply unjust – is it any wonder that the people proposing land reform and redistribution are put in jail for their efforts. (see http://www.redd-monitor.org/2012/06/05/thailand-stop-prosecuting-land-reform-activists/).
It brings to mind the words of John Steinbeck when writing about the landless farmers in his book ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ –“ When a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all hi
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Megaprojects yes, but cui bono? | Bangkok Post: opinion