The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) will indefinitely delay the bidding for two mass-transit routes under its supervision, to pave the way for the terms of reference to be scrutinised by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) - the potential project financier.

The terms of reference (ToR) for the two routes - the Blue and Purple lines - were originally scheduled to be available to interested bidders from August 13 to September 12.

"The bidding will be delayed as the Finance Ministry has decided to tap a loan from the JBIC, and the JBIC needs to send staff to work out the ToR with us. That will take some time," MRTA governor Praphat Chongsanguan said after the agency's board meeting yesterday.

The Blue and Purple lines, two of the three lines which the Cabinet approved in July, require a combined investment of Bt80 billion. Meanwhile, the Red Line, which will need an investment of about Bt65 billion, will be supervised by the State Railway of Thailand.

Loans from the JBIC carry extra-low interest rates, in a proposed range of 0.65-0.75 per cent. The borrowing period is expected to be 40 years.

The decision to tap a loan from the JBIC means the MRTA has to scrap the original ToR. Praphat expects that the new terms will be available in November.

Praphat said that at that time the ToR would not be sold, but would be posted on the MRTA's website. All interested bidders could then download the form free of charge and submit it to the agency. Unlike the old ToR, the new terms will not require an interested bidder to specify the financing method. "Immediately after Japan's Finance Ministry approves the loan, the bidding can start," he said.

 The extensions should encourage people to use mass-transit systems to commute in heavily congested Bangkok. The three new lines are designed to feed the BTS Skytrain and the MRTA's subway. Many foreign firms are reportedly interested in bidding, including major companies from Germany, France, Spain and Japan.

Earlier, the government wanted to call for tenders as soon as possible for the Purple, Blue and Red lines.

The Purple Line will run from Bang Yai to Bang Sue. The existing Blue Line - now called Chaloem Ratchamongkhon - will be extended from Hua Lamphong to Bang Khae and from Bang Sue to Tha Phra. The Red Line will connect Rangsit-Yommarat-Phya Thai to the Makkasan-Suvarnabhumi Airport express-train route.

The bidding has been delayed for months, reportedly due to a rift between Transport Minister Pongsak Ruktapongpisal and Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit.

The caretaker government has been under fire for its apparent haste to call for the bidding for a total of 10 mass-transit routes with a combined investment of about Bt550 billion, due to the huge cost of the projects which would require state financing over a long period. It later decided to go ahead with only three routes.

Watcharapong Thongrung

 The Nation