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The board of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) yesterday approved in principle the construction of the Brown Line (Khae Rai-Lam Salee). The 22-station 21.6-kilometre route, costing about Bt45.09 billion, is not in the master plan.
MRTA chairman Ratchanee Treepipatkul said the authority had to submit new mass-transit projects to its board of directors for consideration. The board has approved the project in principle by considering its public benefit. The project will be further submitted to the Transport Ministry early next month.
The design work is to be completed by 2016, with bidding for its construction opened in 2015. The construction period will be about three years and the service will be opened in July 2021.

‘DISAPPOINTED’ TOT CHIEF TO QUIT
TOT chairman Udom Puasakul intends to resign from his post soon, citing his disappointment that he could not push the telecom agency to achieve its business goals during his nine-month stint.
He had intended to announce his resignation yesterday during a meeting of the board but its other members asked him to reconsider, he said. He personally gave himself a score of 4 out of 10 on his performance, so he wanted to step down and let someone else replace him.
For the second quarter, TOT posted revenue of Bt27.881 billion, while expenditure was Bt15.774 billion and profit Bt6.941 billion.

BA TO SERVE MYANMAR CAPITAL
Bangkok Airways plans to be the first foreign carrier to serve Nay Pyi Taw, with the first flight to Myanmar’s capital scheduled for September 30, targeting businesspeople and government officials. Currently it flies three times a day from Bangkok to Yangon and has four weekly flights to Mandalay. The number of daily Bangkok-Yangon flights will be raised to four from October 27.
AirAsia announced earlier that it would begin a Bangkok-Nay Pyi Taw service in October.

KBANK BACKS CHINESE INVESTORS
Kasikornbank yesterday announced it was focusing on providing a full range of financial and other solutions in support of Thailand’s goal of becoming a major investment hub for Chinese business within the Asean Economic Community.
The bank recently lent Bt1.27 billion to Shandong Linglong Tyre, the third-largest automobile-tyre producer in China, for the construction of a factory at the Hemaraj Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate.
Bank chairman Banthoon Lamsam said the loans had been granted to LLIT (Thailand), a subsidiary of Shandong Linglong Tyre.
LLIT (Thailand), 99.98 per cent owned by Shandong Linglong Tyre, is constructing its factory on about 330 rai (53 hectares) of land. Work is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
With a tax privilege granted by the Board of Investment, the factory’s production capacity will amount to around 12 million units per year, which is expected to increase in the future.