FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Court rejects CP’s addition to airports development bid

Court rejects CP’s addition to airports development bid

An Administrative Court appeal-review committee has rejected a submission of additional documents from the Charoen Pokphand Group-led Thana Holding Consortium, as part of its bid to develop the U-Tapao Airport and Eastern Airport City Project.

 

 


The projects come under the eastern economic zone development scheme, which will feature high-speed rail connections serving urban expansion plans that will see the Eastern Aviation City grow to become an aviation metropolis within 10 years. 
A July 1 meeting of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha confirmed that selection of bid winners will proceed without the documents, which were submitted after the deadline, said Kanit Saengsubhan, secretary-general to the EEC Office.
The EEC selection committee will announce the bid winners within a month of the court’s ruling.
“The next step is for the selection committee to examine the documents submitted on time. The bidders’ first set of documents are now being reviewed by the selection committee, with review of the second scheduled for completion in two to three weeks,” Kanit said.
Selected bidders will then be judged on their third and fourth envelopes – financial proposals and additional proposal, respectively – and the winner announced once the court has made a final ruling, he said.
Meanwhile, an ongoing appeal by a private company engaged in the third phase of the Laem Chabang Port Project is expected to be resolved in a month by the appeals review committee.
The EEC Policy Committee also acknowledged comments from 15 agencies regarding the draft contract for third phase of the Map Ta Phut Port Project. Ten agencies agreed with the draft contract while five proposed to add details but no significant amendments.
The next step is to forward the draft contract to the Attorney General Office for amendment before proposing it to Cabinet within two to three weeks.
Kanit also said that the EEC Policy Committee had noted progress made on the high-speed rail project, with a contract being prepared between the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and the project winners.
Authorities have expropriated 82 per cent of the land for the high-speed rail project, which will connect Thailand’s three main airports - Don Mueang in Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi in Samut Prakan and U-Tapao in Rayong. The remaining 18 per cent of the land is SRT property that has been encroached upon.
The EEC Policy Committee has approved a budget of Bt200 million so that the remaining land can be cleared before the original schedule of within two to three years.
Delays in acquiring the land could impact both the high-speed rail project and U-Tapao Airport and Eastern Airport City Project.

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