Thai Cabinet To Mull New Loan From JICA

BANGKOK, November 13 (TNA) - The Thai Cabinet is set to consider a new borrowing project from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at its next weekly meeting on November 15 to finance the government's phase-three extended electric train purple-route, linking Bangkok's Bang Sue area with Bang Yai in the capital's suburban Nonthaburi Province. Updated reports from Bangkok's Government House said Sunday that the Thai Ministry of Finance has planned to raise the proposed 31.77-billion-yen, or 11.76- billion-baht, loan before the November 15 Cabinet meeting for further consideration. If the Thai Cabinet approved the project in principle, the Ministry of Finance will, according to the latest reports, seek another Cabinet approval of its organising of public hearing forums to gather people's opinions on the project. If the majority of the public also endorsed the phase-three extended electric train purple-route, the Thai government, through the Ministry of Finance, would then seek a final parliamentary approval of the project, through a major vote. Meanwhile, the Thai Ministry of Finance said that the new loan from JICA is needed to support the extension of the Bang Sue-Bang Yai electric train route to include Nonthaburi's passengers into the capital's mass rail transit networks in order to ease traffic congestion, as well as to reduce energy losses and pollution in metropolitan and adjacent areas, noting that the project will be under the Office of the Auditor General of Thailand's inspection to ensure its transparency. (TNA)