Don Mueang airport to reopen Aug 1
Published: 4/07/2012 at 04:57 PMOnline news: Local News


Don Mueang airport will reopen for commercial aviation on Aug 1, not on Oct 1 as earlier planned, Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said on Wednesday.

“After its opening, Don Mueang airport will become another important source of revenue for the country, in addition to Suvarnabhumi airport,” Mr Kittiratt said.

The meeting of economic ministers, chaired by Mr Kittiratt, who is also deputy prime minister for economic matters, this morning reviewed the eurozone debt crisis situation and its possible impact on the Thai economy.

The government will oversee the value of the baht to help strengthen the trade competitiveness of exporters. The baht's value is now stable and it is not a pressure on the inflation rate, he said after the meeting.

Overall exports to Europe had not dropped so far, but there were signs that exporters would be affected by the financial crisis in some European countries. Therefore the government must look for measures to help them, he said.

The deputy premier said the meeting agreed that the foreign exchange rate must be stabilised to soften the impact of the eurozone crisis. The baht had weakened to a certain level and this would help spur exports.

A stable interest rate and unemployment rate and stable energy prices were needed to ensure this.

On energy stability, the government was confident it can curb the domestic retail price of fuel because the state Oil Fund was now in a much better position.The fund’s red figures had been reduced from more than 30 billion baht to 16 billion baht, the minister said.

The government would focus on new export markets in East Asia, the Middle East and North America. He was confident the export sector would not suffer much from the eurozone crisis.

Mr Kittiratt said unemployment was now relatively low and the only problem in this area is that workers have no skills wanted by manufacturers. He had directed the ministries of Labour and Education to come up with measures to improve the skills of workers.

He said the meeting agreed the global financial crisis would affect the textile, ornamentation and electronic industries. The Ministry of Finance will oversee their problems. Financial institutions under the supervision of the Finance Ministry, especially the Export-Import Bank of Thailand, were ready to provide a total of 100 billion baht in loans for exporters.

He admitted the price of natural rubber had dropped sharply in line with global oil prices. The government will discuss ways to boost the price with other producers Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

He said the political conflict is another risk factor. However, as long as there is no political violence and no natural disaster he expected the number of foreign tourists to significantly increase over last year.

BANGKOK POST