The junta leader has announced that the regime will use absolute power to speed up the construction of the the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
On 24 October 2017, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, announced after the ministerial meeting that the government is preparing to invoke Section 44 of the Interim Constitution to speed up the project to develop the EEC, according to the the Thai News Agency.
The section which grants the regime absolute power will be used while the EEC Bill is being considered by the National Legislative Assembly.
Lt Gen Sansern Kamnoed, the spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office, said laws over land appropriation will be added to the EEC Bill in order to foster investor confidence.
“[I] confirm that if the bill has been enforced, [it] will not go against the NCPO (National Council for Peace and Order) order because it is written in coherent manner,” said Sansern. “Formerly, town planning would take more than one to two years under the procedure of the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning.”
The time frame will be shortened to only six months.
In a move to shake up the lethargic Thai economy, the junta leader invoked in May 2015 his absolute power to announce NCPO Order No. 17/2015.
The order sanctioned turning large areas in Tak, Mukdahan, Nong Khai, Sa Kaeo and Trat provinces — all bordering Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia — into Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where industry deregulation and tax cuts are offered to lure investors.
Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha (file photo)