• 
• 

Published on February 8, 2008

Santi said he would proceed with ongoing projects such as the Purple Line from Bang Yai to Bang Sue. Speaking after arriving at the ministry yesterday, the minister said he would accelerate mass-transit projects in Greater Bangkok by supporting the Bang Yai-Bang Sue line, for which the Mass Rapid Transit Authority has opened bidding.

The Transport Ministry will also pick up the projects that have already been worked out by the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.

The ministry is expected to announce its policy before the House in two weeks.

Transport Ministry permanent secretary Chaisawat Kittipornpaiboon said he had asked every agency to prepare information and future projects to propose to the new minister. Another issue is the double rails of the State Railway of Thailand. The PM wants is to change the size to 1.435 metres for Bt300 billion.

Sombat Kijjalak, director of Bangkok Metro, believes the mass-transit projects will be pushed by the government as all coalition parties support them as being necessary to fix Bangkok's traffic problems and reduce oil consumption.

Prapas Jongsanguan, director of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority, said that the MRTA was ready to go ahead immediately with the government's mass-transit projects. He expects that by March, his agency will be able to sign an agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to obtain a first batch of loans worth Bt10 billion to finance the Purple Line.

On his first day in office, Santi ordered Transport Co and the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority to indefinitely delay bus-fare hikes planned for this month and next. Both state enterprises must resubmit documents on their operating costs.

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation