Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop said Monday that the government's committee on assistance and reconstruction of Thailand's six southern tsunami-hit provinces would seek for a cabinet approval of an additional fund of 700 million baht (17.72 million US dollars) for the committee's mission.

The issue would be proposed to the cabinet at its weekly meeting here Tuesday, he was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying.

The cabinet already approved a budget of 5.2 billion baht (131.645 million US dollars) for the purpose last week.

Another round of survey will be made to verify the initial estimate that up to 700 million baht of budget will be required torepair roads, ports and piers damaged by the tsunamis.

This round of the survey will be done by a team of architects and engineers who will then forward the recommendation to the cabinet next week, said Suwat.

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2005)