The mobile cabinet approved, in principle, 13 small projects today, worth an estimated 300 million baht, proposed by northern provinces. It also ordered the Ministry of Transport to conduct a feasibility study for an airport for Phayao province.

The prime minister also instructed the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to speed up the establishment of an office in Phayao in the fourth quarter of this year and to declare Phayao as a special zone for sustainable tourism.

Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao said that the governor of Phayao will seek cabinet approval for 100-million baht to fund an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the airport project, if the cabinet approves the airport project, estimated to cost about 3 billion baht.

He said that the Department of Airports had already conducted a feasibility study.

Some of the projects approved by the cabinet today include:

• Bt14 million for a project to increase the competitiveness of tourism in Nan province.
• Bt21 million  to preserve the culture and old city of Nan so it can become a world cultural heritage site.
• Bt26 million to upgrade the infrastructure of “innovative tourism”.
• Bt15 million for wellness services and products in extreme northern provinces.
• Bt23 million  to upgrade the production of agricultural products, to increase their value through marketing and innovative promotion.