BANGKOK — Thailand’s cabinet has approved infrastructure projects worth 115 billion baht ($3.5 billion), Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Tuesday, as the government seeks to boost the economy to offset the impact of US tariffs.
“This large expenditure is to achieve the objective of stimulating the economy and increasing potential,” he said.
The projects include new roads as well as power infrastructure and facilities to improve access to drinking water. They are expected to boost GDP growth by 0.4 percentage points, Pichai said.
Separately, there will be soft loans worth 200 billion baht to help exporters, he added.
The Thai economy improved in April from March and the outlook remains in line with its downwardly revised forecast for this year with the impact of US tariffs to be seen in the second half, the central bank said on Friday.
The manufacturing sector improved after a sharp increase in exports drove inventory restocking, the Bank of Thailand said in a statement, but noted activity data was not yet reflecting the U.S. tariffs, which were announced in early April.
