Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira announced following the 2nd Economic Stimulus Policy Committee meeting of 2025 that the government must review the 157 billion baht economic stimulus budget. The decision came after the National Economic and Social Development Council and the Bank of Thailand requested a review of the digital wallet program.
The government will prioritize addressing clearly visible problems first, redirecting the budget toward structural issues including water supply and agriculture systems. Other focus areas include transportation systems such as high-speed rail, double-track railways, various roads, and tourism-related challenges. The review will examine existing plans to identify urgent priorities, including immediate SME problems, emphasizing projects that can create employment and enhance competitiveness.
The Economic Stimulus Board approved the framework today, establishing project screening committees and budget monitoring committees to oversee implementation.
Ms. Sirikanya Tansakul, a People's Party MP and Deputy Party Leader, posted on Facebook regarding this development, titled "Helping the Government Find Additional Budget for Fiscal Year 2025's Final Quarter."
She noted that the government decided to postpone the digital wallet cash distribution, shifting the 157 billion baht stimulus budget from consumption stimulation to government investment stimulation through infrastructure (water, transportation), tourism, export impact mitigation, and community-level investments.
Tansakul expressed concern that the 157 billion baht might be insufficient to address both Trump tariff impacts and stimulate investment and tourism. She suggested the government could access additional funding from the central budget's emergency reserves, noting that of the 96 billion baht emergency fund approved by Parliament, only about 30 billion baht has been used, leaving approximately 66 billion baht available.
Combined with the existing stimulus budget, this would provide the government with 223 billion baht for final quarter stimulus efforts in the remaining four months of fiscal year 2025. She indicated that additional budget sources for fiscal year 2026 would depend on the budget debate scheduled for May 28-31.