The First Plan had a single objective, namely,
economic growth, with the fundamental assumption that
rapid economic growth was the key to development, and
that this could not take place without an adequate
infrastructural network, including transportation and
communication facilities, irrigation systems, public
utilities such as power, and so on (Abonyi and
Bunyaraks 1989, 23). The fostering of the
manufacturing sector was central to the Plan, while the
expenditures on agriculture were low and myopic given
the sector’s importance, low productivity and the
possibilities for crop diversification (Dixon 1999, 81). It
was noted by a former Secretary General of the National
Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) that
the First Plan set a variety of vague and generally
unrealistic national targets which were at best
projections of likely and desirable trends that seemed to
correspond with the intentions of the planners (Phisit
1975, 8, quoted in Dixon 1999, 81). In terms of content,
the Plan was primarily an aggregation of the perceived
needs of various government agencies for infrastructure
development, or a financial allocation plan focusing on
infrastructural development (Abonyi and Bunyaraks
1989, 23-24).