The cabinet met on February 28, 2023. Some of the resolutions are as follows:
The cabinet acknowledged the Overview of Economic and Trade Indices for November 2022, as proposed by Ministry of Commerce.
According to the report,
Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January 2022: 108.18 (+0.30%MoM)
Headline inflation rate: +5.02%YoY
Average headline inflation rate for 2022: +6.08% (AoA)
Core inflation rate: +3.04%YoY
Consumer Confidence Index (CCI): 51.3
Headline inflation rate for 2023 is estimated at 2.0-3.0%
The cabinet has granted the Royal Irrigation Department to implement Mae Ta Chang Reservoir construction project in Chiang Rai province under the budget framework of 1,325.28 million Baht, as proposed by Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
The construction of Mae Ta Chang Reservoir is aimed to address shortage of water for consumption during the dry season and alleviate flood in the rainy season. The reservoir will also contribute to aquaculture breeding and conservation, and forest rehabilitation.
Construction period is projected for 3 years (2024-2026). The reservoir will be constructed as a zoned type dam, with the crest width of 10 meters, length: 657 meters, and height: 42 meters. Water storage capacity is 32 million cubic meters. Headwork and reservoir are situated in Ban Mai Charoen, Padad subdistrict, Mae Suay district, Chiang Rai province, with the total area of 1,696 rai 2 ngan 37 square wah. The Royal Irrigation Department has been granted the use of reserved forest, comprising the forest area in Mae Lao National Forest on the left bank (1,595 rai 1 ngan 12 square wah), and state-protected area (under the cabinet resolution, dated April 7, 1993) of 101 rai 1 ngan 25 square wah, by Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
Once completed, the reservoir will serve 12,865 rai of irrigated areas, 17,200 rai of agricultural areas, and 4,775 households in Chiang Rai?s Padad, Sri Toi, and Mae Prik subdistricts.
The cabinet approved voluntary financial support to Thailand?s APEC Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Award on an annual basis, at up to USD15,000/year. The budget will be allocated from Ministry of Foreign Affairs? budget from FY 2024 onward.
There will be 3 award categories under the APEC Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Award, namely, for women, youth, and MSMEs. Each award recipient will be prized with USD5,000, voluntarily sponsored by APEC economies. The Award will open for nominations in March 2023, while selection of winners is planned in the latter part of the year. The Award winners will be announced at the 2023 APEC Ministerial Meeting to be held in San Francisco, U.S.A.
As the APEC Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Award is initiated by Thailand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed for the country?s regular funding of USD15,000/year from FY2024 onward to ensure continuation in the implementation of the Bangkok Goals on Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy, and to create awareness on the BCG economic model.
Source: Cabinet Meeting (Prayut Chan-o-cha) Feb 28, 2023