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Published on December 12, 2007

Deputy Transport Minister Sansern Wongcha-um said yesterday that the authority expected to propose a list of newly appointed SRT board members to the Cabinet next Tuesday, which will be the interim government's last meeting before the election on December 23.

"After the election, the ministry expects not to propose any mega-investment projects to the Cabinet," he said, adding that it should let the new government take charge. 

A source at the Transport Ministry said the seven new SRT board members will replace the entire old board, which had Siva Saengmanee as chairman.

All the SRT board members recently resigned from their posts to end a conflict between board members who were representatives of the Finance Ministry and the SRT chairman of the board. The conflict slowed down SRT's rehabilitation plan.

The source said Sansern had wanted the rehabilitation plan to be completed within the term of this government. But the plan made no progress following protests by the SRT labour union at the end of October.

Following the incident, SRT chairman Siva consented to the requests of the union while the other board members, who were representatives of the Finance Ministry, did not agree.

The source added that the Finance Ministry's list may include some old members, who were representatives of the ministry, to continue the rehabilitation plan. If the plan is delayed, it would affect SRT's financial status.

Currently, SRT is carrying Bt42.7 billion in debts, incurring interest payment of Bt1.8 billion a year. This excludes total pension payments of Bt50.2 billion. Last year, SRT had a negative cash flow of Bt5.56 billion a year.

Watcharapong Thongrung

 The Nation