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Published on February 14, 2008

Bidding for contracts to construct Bangkok's Purple Line mass-transit project could be delayed from next month, as a result of the new government's plans to expand such projects in the capital.

Deputy Prime Minister Sahas Banditkul yesterday said a traffic master plan laid out by the Traffic and Transport Policy and Planning Office would need to be adjusted to accommodate Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's plans to expand mass-transit works.

"This could lead to a delay in the Purple Line, but the bidding process will not be cancelled," he said.

Bidding for an Bt18-billion line linking Bang Sue and Bang Yai - part of the Purple Line - was planned for next month after a public hearing next Monday.

Sahas, who oversees transportation policy, yesterday discussed the matter with officials of the Transport Ministry, the Traffic and Transport Policy and Planning Office of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) and the State Railway of Thailand.

He said the agencies would conduct a detailed study of how the existing master plan could be integrated with the prime minister's plan.

"As far as I could learn from the state agencies, there is no difficulty in integrating the plans. The difference between them is just the coverage of the extended routes - which will reach into the suburban area in eight directions - and the inner and outer loops," he said.

However, he declined to specify the framework for the study, saying there was no need to speed up the process and that the project must proceed prudently.

Pranot Suriya, deputy director-general of the Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning Office, said his agency might have to conduct another feasibility study of investment in the train routes if there were adjustments to the original plan.

His office has already completed one such feasibility study of investment in 10 mass-transit routes during the term of the Thaksin Shinawatra administration.

"However, I don't think it will take too much time if we have to do the study again, given that both plans share common basic details," he said.

MRTA governor Prapat Chongsanguan said adjustments to accommodate the prime minister's plans would not affect the master plan. It was only a matter of more work needing to be done.

The new routes proposed by the prime minister were the same as those involved in a study when Samak was Bangkok governor.

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation