Director-general Phanthip Surathin said yesterday the series would feature 19,800 gold coins with a nominal value of Bt18,000, 20,000 silver coins at Bt800 and 18 million nickel coins at Bt20 and Bt10. All the coins will feature His Majesty on one face and the 80th birthday royal ceremonial emblem on the obverse.

Special gold coins weighing 240 grams will be made to order for Bt300,000 each.

Red line :Bang Sue-Taling Chan route gets nod

The Cabinet yesterday gave the green light to the construction of the 15-kilometre Bang Sue-Taling Chan section of the Red Line at a cost of Bt13 billion.

Bancha Khonnakorn, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), said the state agency expected to open bidding in August or September, with financing from its annual budget as well as local loans. The Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning Office is fine-tuning the design of the longer Bang Sue-Rangsit section of the route to add more stations, he said.

If the new design requires an increase in the budget of Bt52 billion, the SRT will ask the Cabinet for re-approval. Then, construction should start early next year.

S Korean TV :Third series set to start shooting

The South Korean TV series "The Hour of Dog and Wolf" is scheduled to start shooting here on Saturday. Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Phornsiri Manoharn said yesterday that following the filming of "Full House" and "Kung", this third Korean series should help make Thailand better known among Korean travellers.

Last year, South Korean arrivals jumped by 35 per cent to 1.4 million. Phornsiri is convinced that the new series - whose one-month shooting will take place in Bangkok and other locations - will help attract more tourists from South Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan.