Govt screens 57bn baht Southern development projects

Thansettakij•Economy•20h ago

Reader Briefing

The Thai government is reviewing 199 proposed projects worth over 57 billion baht for five southern provinces ahead of a mobile cabinet meeting in Songkhla.

•Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn chaired a preparatory meeting on August 25 to review development projects from Songkhla, Satun, Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat.
•A total of 199 projects with an initial budget of over 57 billion baht are proposed for the Mobile Cabinet meeting on September 1, 2026.
•The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment warned that a dolphin-watching tourism project may impact the Irrawaddy dolphin ecosystem.
•The meeting approved emergency budget requests for Songkhla province, Hat Yai City Municipality, and Khuan Lang Town Municipality.

Overview

•Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn chaired a preparatory meeting on August 25 to screen projects for the Mobile Cabinet meeting scheduled for September 1, 2026, in Songkhla.
•The proposal includes 199 projects from Songkhla, Satun, Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat with a total initial budget exceeding 57 billion baht.
•The Governor of Songkhla proposed 5 preparatory projects and 26 policy projects totaling 35,111.056 million baht.
•The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment requested a review of a boat trip project to view Irrawaddy dolphins due to potential wide-scale ecological impacts.
•The Governor of Narathiwat proposed 6 ready projects and 8 policy projects totaling 15,500.43 million baht, all of which were approved by the meeting.
•The meeting approved emergency budget requests for Songkhla province, Hat Yai City Municipality, and Khuan Lang Town Municipality totaling over 135 billion baht.
•Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn stated that the proposals must be reviewed by a joint public-private committee next week before being submitted to the Prime Minister at the Mobile Cabinet meeting.

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Key Quotes

Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn

"Although many projects have been proposed, the government will screen them carefully, approving only those that are ready, cost-effective, do not impact the budget, and benefit local people."

แม้จะมีข้อเสนอโครงการเข้ามาหลายโครงการ แต่รัฐบาลจะกลั่นกรองอย่างรอบคอบ จะเห็นชอบเฉพาะโครงการที่มีความพร้อม มีความคุ้มค่า ไม่ส่งผลต่องบประมาณ และต้องเป็นประโยชน์ต่อประชาชนในพื้นที่

Key Entities

Person

Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn(พิพัฒน์ รัชกิจประการ)

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport who chaired the preparatory meeting for the Mobile Cabinet.

Place

Songkhla(สงขลา)ℹ️

One of the five southern provinces proposing development projects and the location of the Mobile Cabinet meeting.

Satun(สตูล)ℹ️

One of the five southern provinces proposing development projects.

Yala(ยะลา)

One of the five southern provinces proposing development projects.

Pattani(ปัตตานี)

One of the five southern provinces proposing development projects.

Narathiwat(นราธิวาส)ℹ️

One of the five southern provinces proposing development projects.

Organization

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment(กระทรวงทรัพยากรธรรมชาติและสิ่งแวดล้อม)ℹ️

The ministry that raised ecological concerns regarding the Irrawaddy dolphin tourism project.

Songkhla Provincial Highway District(แขวงทางหลวงจังหวัดสงขลา)

The agency reporting on 133 urgent projects, 106 of which remain unfinished due to floods.

Marine Department(กรมเจ้าท่า)

The department tasked with discussing the Pattani waterway dredging project with the Governor of Pattani.

Joint Public and Private Sector Committee for Economic Problem Solving(คณะกรรมการร่วมภาครัฐและเอกชนเพื่อแก้ไขปัญหาทางเศรษฐกิจ (กรอ.))

The committee that held a meeting on July 8, 2026, regarding budget requests for Songkhla province.

Hat Yai City Municipality(เทศบาลนครหาดใหญ่)

A municipality requesting additional project funding of 25,900,000 million baht.

Khuan Lang Town Municipality(เทศบาลเมืองควนลัง)

A municipality requesting additional project funding of 21,133,800 million baht.

Ministry of Transport(กระทรวงคมนาคม)ℹ️

One of the agencies involved in the proposed policy projects for Songkhla.

Ministry of Interior(กระทรวงมหาดไทย)ℹ️

An agency involved in Songkhla's policy projects and the implementation of emergency budget requests.

Bureau of the Budget(สำนักงบประมาณ)ℹ️

An agency involved in Songkhla's policy projects and the implementation of emergency budget requests.