BIDDING FOR KRABI PLANT TO START AS PLANNED
Kurujit Nakornthap, energy permanent secretary, said the bidding process for the 800-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Krabi would commence on schedule on July 22, even though the construction requires the Environmental Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) to
Kurujit, who also chairs the board of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, said there was no reason to postpone the bidding. Previously, the Egat allowed local people to comment following legal procedures, and adjustments of the plant’s layout had been done to suit the area and comments of the people of Krabi.
The plant’s construction will commence once the EHIA follows the procedure, he said.
“Constructing the power plant in Krabi is necessary for the South as, in principle, a power plant is required to be close to power users for the electricity stability in an area. The South also sees power usage growth at 7 per cent per year due to high power usage from tourism, while other regions see a 6 per cent rise,” Kurujit said.
Egat Governor Soonchai Kumnoonsate said that the EHIA was submitted to the ONEP, which appointed a committee to inspect the area and suggested adjusting the EHIA on water treatment from power generation process and transport of coal from vessels to the power plant. The EHIA adjustment is expected to take about two months.
The winner of the bid will be told that construction will be allowed to proceed only when the EHIA gains approval. The construction period is expected to be 44-46 months.
SME BANK NETS H1 PROFIT
The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand eked out a net profit of Bt604 million for the first six months of this year, higher than targeted in its rehabilitation plan.
It brought down its non-performing loans from Bt35.17 billion or 39.9 per cent of total loans to Bt27.18 billion or 31.5 per cent at the end of June.
The state bank’s performing loans expanded to Bt59.19 billion last month from Bt52.93 billion at the end of June last year.
Because of its NPL sell-off, the bank’s total loans dropped from Bt88.09 billion to Bt86.37 billion.
SME Bank started extending policy loans with a 4-per-cent interest rate to small and medium-sized enterprises after the Cabinet passed a resolution on relief for SMEs on June 16.
Already 1,195 SMEs have applied for loans worth Bt6 billion. Most of them have been hurt by the country’s economic slowdown.
The bank also plans to join investment with four SMEs – three manufacturing products for export and one engaged in the information-technology business. The bank has a list of 17 potential SMEs for venture capital. Most are involved in agricultural processing and manufacturing.
TOT BROADBAND TRAGET
TOT targets net new broadband Internet subscribers at 230,000 this year.
Rungsun Channarukul, a senior executive vice president, said yesterday that the state enterprise expected to maintain its subscriber base at last year’s 1.6-million level. About 70 per cent of them are in the provinces.
It aims for Bt11 billion in revenue from broadband Internet service this year, equivalent to 3.7 per cent of its expected total revenues for 2015.
