Thai Government Urged to Speed Up Budget Disbursement
Thailand’s economic council has warned that a slow pace of government spending could harm economic growth, falling well below the 15-year average
The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) has urged the government to accelerate its budget disbursement, warning that current spending rates are significantly below the 15-year average and could hinder economic expansion for the rest of the year.
Danucha Pichayanan, the NESDC's Secretary-General, stressed that speeding up the disbursement of both the regular and investment budgets for 2025 is crucial for driving growth.
The council has set a target for the government to disburse at least 65% of the total investment budget and to expedite approved stimulus projects.
For the first nine months of the 2025 fiscal year, only 39.8% of the investment budget has been spent. While this is an improvement on the 33% rate from 2024—when the budget was delayed by seven months—it remains well below the 15-year average of 48.7%.
The NESDC's data, valid as of the end of June 2025, shows that a total of B534.8 billion has been either disbursed or committed, representing 57.4% of the total investment budget.
To meet the government’s overall target of 80% disbursement for the fiscal year, an additional 374.8 billion baht must be spent by the end of September.
This will require the government to fast-track payments on existing contracts and to quickly complete the procurement process for the remaining budget.
A breakdown of committed spending shows that the transport sector accounts for the largest share, with the Ministry of Transport responsible for 31.6% of committed contracts.
The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives followed with 15.8% and 11.3% respectively. Spending on land and construction accounts for the majority of committed funds at 75%.
