MRTA board backs alternative plan
THE Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand’s (MRTA) board has approved the rail operator’s preparation of an alternative plan to take back two sections of its Green Line extension from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).
Acting MRTA governor Rithika Suparat said that the MRTA board agreed on the results of a public-private partnership (PPP) feasibility study for the Bearing-Samut Prakan and Mo Chit-Saphan Mai sections of its Green Line extension.
The feasibility study on the Bt61 billion MRT project is an alternative plan if negotiations with the BMA fail to reach a conclusion on the liability and asset transfers of both extensions of the MRT’s Green Line.
The negotiations among MRTA, BMA and Ministry of Finance officials have been delayed with little progress made and, as a result, the Bearing-Samut Prakan section of the Green Line extension may not be in service in December this year, as targeted.
In the preliminary study, if the BMA cannot receive the project transfer, other MRT operators, in the form of a PPP, could be found through two alternatives: new auctions or direct negotiation with Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTS), which operates the MRT’s existing Green Line.
After this, the MRTA will submit to the Ministry of Transport the feasibility study results for its consideration of up to several weeks.
If the ministry agrees on the Green Line's return to MRTA, the matter will be forwarded to Commission for the Management of Land Traffic to select MRTA or BMA to operate both sections of the Green Line extension. The decision is expected by January next year.
“In its latest position, the BMA is still insisting that the government shoulder all of the transfer burden,” Rithika said. “But we regard the BMA a local agency which generates income and needs to shoulder some liabilities as the same manner as a joint investment in the project. Given that, the negotiations could not be resolved yet. Therefore, we have to prepare an alternative plan. If the negotiations cannot not be resolved, the MRTA is ready to operate the MRT as presented in the study.”
Surachet Laophulsuk, the MRTA’s assistant governor, said the MRTA asked the BMA to offer direction for the transfer to MRTA before the end of October last year. But the BMA has not yet made an offer.
Therefore, MRTA needs to have an alternative plan as a means to prevent financial damages if the project is delayed, and also the public would be adversely affected if this happened, he said.
In the same meeting, the MRTA board also approved in principle an extension for construction of the Hua Lamphong-Bang Kae section and the Bang Sue-Tha Phra section of MRT’s Blue Line extension.
Meanwhile, the timeframe for an extended construction period has not been determined yet as MRTA is awaiting assessment of the overall progress on the project.
