Gov prepares for meeting with PM

PHUKET TOWN: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the Cabinet will meet with Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi on in Phuket on May 26 to discuss major issues affecting the island’s future, the Governor announced yesterday. Top of the agenda will be the effect of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) scare on Phuket’s tourism industry, which is estimated to be losing 2.5 billion baht a month. Gov Pongpayome said that other topics to be discussed include the Cyber Paradise project, developing Phuket as an Asian health tourism destination and establishing a regional National Science Museum in Phuket, which is expected to cost about 350 million baht. Also high on the list of topics to be discussed, he added, is how the 100 billion baht PM Thaksin pledged in January will be spent in developing the province, including water supply improvements, upgrading the main road from Phuket Town to the airport and transforming Phuket into an air hub for Southeast Asia.