The Cabinet held a special meeting approving the 2570 budget framework of 3.788 trillion baht, preparing to forward it to Parliament next week. Meanwhile, unspent funds from the 2569 budget totaling 10.3 billion baht were returned to the Treasury, with plans to reallocate them to the central budget to clear outstanding debts and support the Orange Line metro project.
At 14:12 on 18 June 2569 GMT+7. Mr. Pradorn Prissanantakul, Minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office, held a press conference at the Government House following a special Cabinet meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Mr. Pipat Ratchakitprakarn. The Cabinet approved two proposals from the Budget Bureau: first, the draft Budget Appropriation Act for fiscal year 2570, with the meeting endorsing public feedback gathered by the Budget Bureau within the 3.788 trillion baht framework. Next, the Budget Bureau will draft the bill to present to the Cabinet next week before submitting it to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Second, the draft Act on the transfer of budget appropriations for fiscal year 2569. The Cabinet acknowledged a summary of unspent 2569 budget amounts from various agencies to be reclaimed for government crisis management. The total transferable amount is approximately 10.3 billion baht, with significant returns from ministries including Transport, Interior, and Agriculture and Cooperatives.
The timeline for advancing the 2569 budget transfer bill includes a three-day public consultation from 19-21 June 2569, followed by submission to the Prime Minister on Monday, 22 June, to be placed on the Cabinet agenda on Tuesday, 23 June. If approved, it will be forwarded to the House of Representatives for consideration on 25 June 2569.
Regarding the relatively low transfer amount of 10.3 billion baht, Mr. Pradorn explained that the government initially targeted nearly 100 billion baht in unspent funds from the last two fiscal quarters to cope with the Middle East crisis. However, the announcement of this policy prompted agencies to accelerate third-quarter spending sharply, reducing the projected surplus gradually from 100 billion to 80 billion, then 70 billion, 50 billion, and finally settling at around 10.3 billion baht.
Mr. Pradorn further revealed that the reclaimed 10.3 billion baht will be merged into the central budget’s emergency reserve, which currently has about 20 billion baht remaining. There are pending obligations such as debts from the Orange Line metro (PPP) and the World Horticultural Exposition projects. The government will allocate these additional funds based on agencies’ requests and maintain reserves for disasters or unforeseen events during the last three months of the fiscal year—July, August, and September 2569. Additionally, if necessary, funds can be drawn from this central budget reserve to mitigate impacts from the Middle East crisis, such as ongoing transport compensation following the first phase already implemented by the government.