The government has agreed to amend the Private Investments in State Undertakings Act to fast-track investment for public-private partnership projects.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, the National Reform and Reconciliation Committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha agreed to amend the act to shorten the joint investment period under the PPP scheme to nine months from 20 months.
The PPP Committee last month agreed to put six additional big infrastructure projects worth more than 600 billion baht on the fast track under the PPP scheme.
The six projects comprise three electric train routes, two high-speed train routes and a motorway.
The three electric trains are the Purple Line between Kanchanaphisek Outer Ring Road and Tao Pun, expected to cost 131 billion baht; the Orange Line's eastern and western sections worth 196 billion; and a route connecting Phuket airport and Chalong Circle worth 39.4 billion.
The Bangkok-Rayong high-speed railway is projected to cost 152 billion baht, while the Bangkok-Chiang Mai high-speed railway's investment budget is under study. A motorway linking Nakhon Pathom and Cha-am in Phetchaburi is expected to cost 80 billion.
The government is stepping up efforts to accelerate big-ticket infrastructure investment to boost economic growth and trigger private investment.
According to Mr Wissanu, the committee yesterday also agreed on a transformation plan for the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), while authorising Mr Wissanu and Ampon Kitti-ampon, the committee's secretary-general, to act as advisers for the government's planning unit to transform into a real think-tank that shapes the country's long-term vision and mission.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who visited the NESDB on Thursday, said the agency needs to concentrate on handling new challenges such as an ageing society, rapid urbanisation and human resource development to embrace the Thailand 4.0 economic model.
The board was told to leave non-essential jobs such as monitoring the investment of state enterprises to other state agencies, and focus only on large development projects.
NESDB representatives sit on 600 different committees, a cumbersome arrangement. The board also functions as a secretariat of the committee on national reform, strategy and reconciliation.