FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Fast-tracking of two projects approved

Fast-tracking of two projects approved

THE PUBLIC Private Partnership Policy Committee has approved the PPP fast-tracking of two projects: the Hua Lumphong-Bang Khae and Bang Sue-Tha Pra extensions of the Blue Line, and renewal of the lease on 1,498 rai (240 hectares) of Treasury Department la

The PPP Committee, meanwhile, decided to send back the proposed Bt6-billion project to develop Bangkok Port on 17 rai of land for reconsideration by the Port Authority of Thailand, because of its broader-than-expected potential impact on local communities, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said yesterday after a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
Apisak said the panel had approved the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand’s formation of a committee under Article 35 of the Public Private Partnership Act to consider how to manage the overall project for the extended Blue Line routes.
The options are taking bids to develop the project or negotiating with the operator of the current Blue Line – Bangkok Expressway and Metro – he added. 
The Cabinet agreed two weeks ago that the extended Blue Line route would include 1 kilometre of track from Tao Poon Station on the Purple Line to Bang Sue Station on the existing stretch of the Blue Line. 
Apisak said the contract to develop and manage the Blue Line extensions would be drawn up on a PPP net-cost basis, which means the private contractor shoulders the entire investment cost and shares benefits from the project with the government. 
The fast-track process of setting up a committee under Article 35 through to selecting the private company to invest in the Bt84-billion project has to be completed by the end of this year, before being submitted for Cabinet approval in January, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, director-general of the Finance Ministry’s State Enterprise Policy Office, explained. 
It will then take at least 15 months to develop the extensions, include the 1-kilometre run from Tao Poon to Bang Sue, he said.
The PPP Committee yesterday also agreed with a proposal to renew the 30-year lease on a 1,498-rai plot in Sri Racha district, Chon Buri, which is home to an oil refinery operated by Thai Oil. 
Under the approval, the Treasury Department has to revise the land appraisal of the plot and come up with a new rental rate that takes the state agency’s interests fully into account, Apisak said.
The outcome will then be submitted for Cabinet approval, after which the final contract will be referred to the PPP Committee for reconsideration.
The entire process will take no more than three months, he stressed, adding that reconsideration of the leasing deal should boost the confidence of the current lessee in respect of expanding its investment on the land.
Thai Oil plans to invest in a new refinery worth up to Bt120 billion on the site if it can renew the contract.
While the existing contract does not expire for another six years, the PPP Committee has to consider its renewal now in order to create confidence for the investor, the finance minister added.
 
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