Launch of BTS extension faces delay

Amorn Kitchawengkul, managing director of Krungthep Thanakom, a subsidiary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, said yesterday that erection of foundation pillars at Phonimit Station (S9) on the 5.3km extension had been suspended for the last three days and would take a further month and a half to complete. As well as affecting the supply of cement in Pathum Thani and sand from Ratchaburi, flooding has seen 1,000 of the project’s workers evacuated from living quarters on Buddha Mondhol I and Buddha Mondhol II roads to Chanthaburi. Amorn said that if the construction was suspended for more than 15 days, the extension’s scheduled opening on December 5 would be delayed.