The project resembles the low-cost housing programme, Baan Ua Athorn, launched by the previous government.

"We believe that demand for Baan Ua Arthorn units at prices lower than Bt600,000 will continue to grow," the company's managing director Premchai Karnasuta said after a shareholders' meeting yesterday.

"But we believe that the government will suspend this project. As a result we will invest by ourselves to serve the strong demand in the market by offering housing priced at Bt500,000 per unit," Premchai said.

ITD won bidding to construct 40,000 units of the Baan Ua Arthorn housing from the previous government in 2005. The units will be ready in the first quarter of next year.

According to its new business strategy, ITD aims to generate the same level of revenue this year as it did last year, about Bt40 billion, Premchai said.

ITD announced total revenue of Bt40.46 billion last year, up about 3 per cent from 2005.

Of the total, revenue from construction services was Bt39.82 billion, an increase of 4.82 per cent from 2005. The increase was primarily a reflection of earnings from overseas projects, such as ITD Cementation India.

Interest income totalled Bt75 million and the remaining Bt566 million was from other earnings, mainly debt repayments, including an advance to an associated company and recompense by the Defence Ministry of Burma.

Last year ITD recorded a loss of Bt2.145 billion, compared to a profit of Bt1.261 billion in 2005. Due to its loss, it did not pay a dividend to shareholders.

Of the total loss, it made a Bt706-million provision for losses on the Kol Dam Hydroelectric project in India, attributable to an increase in costs from construction delays and higher material and labour costs.

"We believe that our revenue will meet our target because now we have a backlog of projects, signed construction contracts worth Bt71.2 billion that will entail

completion and delivery to our customers from this year and till 2009," Premchai said.

He added that the company had already signed new projects worth Bt7.327 billion this year. Meanwhile, projects under negotiation and projects with the lowest bid are worth about Bt12 billion for the first half of this year.

"We also have delivery projects at Suvarnbhumi International Airport worth Bt1.2 billion to Airports of Thailand that are now being considered for payment," he said.

The company also expects to take on new projects worth about Bt20 billion in the second half of this year, which will drive it to meet its sales target, Premchai said.

 He added that the company was ready to join the bidding for mega-project construction next month.

"We have the technology and enough cash to bid by ourselves and are not seeking to join a consortium," he said.

Delays to the mega-projects will not affect the company's revenues this year because it has more overseas construction projects, particularly in India, Laos and Taiwan, Premchai said.

Concerning the probe it faces by the Asset Examination Committee into the CTX bomb detectors at Suvarnbhumi Airport, Premchai said he was confident he could clearly explain the matter when he meets with the committee on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the company is going through the process of obtaining a license for its controversial potash mine in Udon Thani and it will be able to recognise revenue from the mine in 2009, he said.

"We believe that we will clarify environmental problems with the people in Udon Thani province and believe that our investment worth Bt3.2 billion will be ready to begin next year," Premchai said.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation