The Treasury Department expects to fetch at least 1.5 billion baht from the auction of 15 state land plots, its chief says.
Director-general Chakkrit Parapantakul said the 15 land plots are located in 13 provinces, adding that 1.5 billion baht is the starting price for the bidding.
Among the main plots are the site of the so-called Wang Kang Kaow, an old building in the Khlong San district of Bangkok; a plot in Koh Kut in Trat province; one near Ao Por Pier in Phuket province; and another plot in Hua Hin in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, said director-general of the Treasury Department Chakkrit Parapantakul.
Other provinces include Trang, Nakhon Sawan, Amnat Charoen, Yasothon, Uthai Thani, Songkhla and Chiang Rai.
The Treasury Department will sell envelopes for the auctions of the 15 plots between Jan 25 and Feb 23 at the local Treasury office for each plot. Interested parties can submit bids for the envelops on Apr 25.
The Treasury Department is keen to develop several land plots, those in prime areas in particular, in an effort to achieve its annual revenue target of 10 billion baht set under its five-year plan through 2020. To make the revenue target reachable, the department will raise the efficiency of state land use and its adjustment of rental rates.
The department earns revenue of 5 billion baht a year, with 4 billion from rental fees and the rest from other sources, including coinage. Renting land to state enterprises contributes 3 billion baht in revenue each year to the Treasury Department.
The Treasury Department is responsible for managing 12.5 million rai of state land, and only 100,000 rai was allocated for commercial use under the department's supervision.
The department recently said it will raise rental rates on state land across the country. The adjusted rates will be based on the new appraisal prices for 2016-19 to better reflect current market levels. It also plans to raise lease rates for commercial buildings on state land to 50-60% of market value if the rates are far below market levels.
Apart from rental and lease fee rises, the department will determine whether present utilisation of state land and buildings is being maximised, as several lease and rental contracts of government plots, ostensibly for agricultural purposes, are in fact being used for commerce. The Treasury Department charges lower lease and rental rates on land and buildings for residential or agricultural use than for commercial purposes.
Mr Chakkrit said the Treasury Department can bypass the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) process for holding the auction for the 15 land plots as no plot's value exceeds 1 billion baht.
But the Treasury Department plans to seek approval from the PPP Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak this year in launching bidding to develop a few large land plots valued at more than 1 billion baht each.
Those plots comprise a 20-rai site opposite to Asiatique, one in Koh Samui's Laem Mai Kaen and another in Phuket.