SRT sounds out market for commercial development near Bang Sue station
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is going ahead with sounding out the market for the auction of Block A near the Bang Sue Central Station, while Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob wants a working group to be set up to organise train assets in a move to boost SRT’s revenue by 10 per cent per year.
SRT’s deputy governor Worawut Mala said the authority is sounding out the market for the 32-rai Block A worth Bt10 billion after an auction for commercial development won little interest from private companies.
“We are studying the market again, but the Covid-19 outbreak is posing new problems. According to law, we have to conduct market-sounding operations at least three times. If no private firms show interest in bidding, we have to cancel the auction and review the possibility of opening for new bids,” Worawut said.
Meanwhile, the transport minister has ordered that a committee to determine a strategy on the management of the area and monitor SRT’s revenue from moveable property and real estate be set up. The panel will be led by Soraphong Paitoonpong, director-general of the Department of Rail Transport. The goal of this working group is to ensure SRT assets are being used efficiently and can provide 10 per cent increase in income.
SRT currently owns more than 33.2 rai of land, with 3,106 lease agreements for buildings and 2,935 leases on land. SRT generates income of Bt2.858 billion per year on average.
More than 100 leases of SRT-owned land are set to expire between 2022 and 2023. SRT will re-evaluate its rental fees before renewing these lease contracts, which were originally made for 20 to 30 years and generated an income of Bt200 million per year. The other option for SRT will be to put these properties up for auction to procure private equity.
