Chadchart: Skytrain upgrade in sight with debt repayment
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Tuesday that the services on Green Line Skytrain system should improve now that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has paid the first portion of the debt owed to Green Line operator Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC).
“The money should help strengthen BTSC’s liquidity, as well as support its operations and services to commuters,” he said.
Chadchart added that the money was an extra allocation to the fiscal 2024 BMA budget, approved for payment to the BTSC by a majority vote of Bangkok Councillors under the Bangkok Administration Act of 1985.
The city owes BTSC some 41.71 billion baht for the cost of machinery and electrical (M&E) system installations, as well as BTSC’s operation costs for the extended Green Line routes and associated maintenance.
The first portion of the debt, 23.09 billion baht, was paid on Tuesday following the Supreme Administrative Court order issued last month. This portion covers M&E installation costs.
The BTSC is awaiting a ruling by the court, which they hope will order BMA to honour the entire debt.
The extensions of the Green Line stretch from Bearing to Samut Prakan stations and from Mo Chit to Saphan Mai and Khu Khot stations.
