The Budget Bureau has called a heads of government offices meeting next week to speed up budget disbursements to stimulate the economy in the second half of this year, permanent secretary for finance Rungson Sriworasat said.
He said on Tuesday that the meeting was aimed at speeding up the financial injection into the Thai economy.
Participants in the meeting would discuss investment in 20 main projects worth more than 1 billion baht each and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) was likely to approve urgent projects, Mr Rungson said.
National budget disbursements for investment projects in the 2014 fiscal year up to May 16 amounted to 181.9 trillion baht and were nine percent behind schedule because contractors delayed the signing of their contracts with the past caretaker government, doubting its authority.
Mr Rungson also said the Ministry of Finance planned a deficit budget of 2.6 trillion baht for fiscal 2015 and would discuss the budget with other agencies before proposing it to the NCPO. The deficit is estimated at 200 billion baht as the ministry expects state revenues of 2.4 trillion baht in the next fiscal year.
The permanent secretary for finance said foreign investors should have confidence in Thailand after it announces its economic development strategies next week, proceeds with government investment, forms an interim government, a constitution drafting assembly and a national reform council.
He said that if national budgets were disbursed normally, the economy next year should expand better than its growth rate this year, expected at 2.5%.