Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will hold her first mobile cabinet meeting in Chiang Mai under the theme "From Flood To Flourish", to rehabilitate Chiang Mai following major floods.
A budget of 256 million baht has been earmarked for the restoration project, with the Chiang Mai business community putting forth rehab proposals.
Government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said on Tuesday that Ms Paetongtarn is preparing to visit Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, two provinces ravaged by recent floods. There, she will lead official inspection trips and chair her first mobile cabinet meeting since assuming the premiership, from Nov 28-Dec 1.
Ms Paetongtarn's visit to the upper North will focus on pressing issues, including monitoring the problems of haze and forest fire smoke, as well as PM2.5 fine dust pollution, which is commonplace during the cool season in the North. The meeting agenda will also touch on drug trafficking along the border.
Also high on the agenda will be tourism promotion in the aftermath of the floods. The sector suffered a setback during the floods, and visitor confidence must be restored, which will help stimulate the local economy.
The mobile cabinet meeting is set to take place in Chiang Mai on Nov 29.
One of the rehab proposals is to repair and improve basic infrastructure through 18 projects, including road repairs and the re-landscaping of areas hard-hit by the floods. Also to be fixed are sluice gates that regulate the flow of water and embankment structure protection developments.
Also afoot are five tourism restoration projects, such as turning Chiang Mai into a world heritage city and other tourism promotion activities.
Lastly, relief measures have been proposed to assist flood victims, including extending deadlines for payments of corporate tax and reducing tax rates imposed on billboard signs, land and building taxes; suspending debt and interest repayments, waiving fees for licences and import duties on machinery parts and components; waiving electricity and tap water fees for affected businesses; and social security measures.
Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, in his capacity as director of the disaster operations centre, said a working group has already planned a long-term solution to solve flooding and landslides in the North.
