Thailand’s cabinet has approved projects worth 115 billion baht, ranging from road building to tourism promotion, as the government seeks to spur the sluggish economy to offset the impact of US tariffs.
“This large expenditure is to achieve the objective of stimulating the economy and increasing its potential,” Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Tuesday.
Mr Pichai said the stimulus package would generate jobs for about 7.4 million people, with employment accounting for 34 billion baht or 30% of the total stimulus budget.
The projects, including new roads, power infrastructure and facilities to improve access to drinking water, are expected to boost gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.4 percentage points, he said.
To ensure timely action, the Ministry of Finance has stressed that all projects must have contracts signed or procurement agreements finalised by Sept 30 of this year or the funding will be cancelled.
The Thai economy expanded by 3.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025 but forecasters expect a steady slowdown for the rest of the years as the impact of US tariffs starts to bite.
Separately, there will be soft loans worth 200 billion baht to help exporters, Mr Pichai added.
All told, the stimulus budget covers 481 projects across 50 government agencies. Highlights include:
Infrastructure development
A total of 34 projects have been approved with a combined budget of 85 billion baht. Among them:
Water infrastructure: Eight projects worth 39.1 billion baht will focus on improving water supply, upgrading existing water sources and developing water distribution systems, expanding rain-fed agricultural areas and developing flood retention areas and flood prevention in urban communities.
These projects are expected to protect 191,167 rai of land from flooding and erosion, increase water supply by 192.2 million cubic metres and benefit 906,803 households across 4.79 million rai. The projects will generate jobs for 73,807 people per month.
Transport infrastructure: Twenty-six projects worth 45.9 billion baht will improve secondary city road networks, enhance travel safety, support agricultural logistics, and resolve traffic bottlenecks. The projects will upgrade 417 kilometres of roads, improve 1,689 routes, and enhance safety at 3,604 locations. These will create jobs for 285,000 people.
Tourism development
A total of 420 tourism-related projects have been approved with a budget of 10 billion baht. They include upgrading tourist attractions, sports stadiums and other facilities; improving tourist services; enhancing safety through CCTV installation; and promoting tourism in secondary cities.
The projects are expected to draw 2.76 million additional tourists, generate 55 billion baht in economic value and benefit 7.6 million people.
Export resilience, productivity, and digital infrastructure
Ten projects with a budget of 11.1 billion baht have been approved. They will focus on the following:
- Agriculture: Four projects worth 160 million baht will increase farmers’ income by at least 6,000 baht per rai annually and boost cooperative earnings by 320,000 baht per year.
- Labour: One project worth 10 billion baht will support small businesses affected by US tariff policies, providing loans to over 1,700 businesses and generating jobs for 100,000 people.
- Digital: Five projects worth 962 million baht will enhance digital infrastructure for trade, agriculture and public services, benefiting over 20,000 users.
Community economy and other initiatives
Seventeen projects worth 9.2 billion baht have been approved. They include 4 billion baht for village and urban community development; 3.6 billion baht for educational human capital and 1.56 billion for local economic development.