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Published on February 20, 2008

The issue was left dangling by the previous government with the existing 30-year lease due to expire at the end of this year.

Santi said he would call an urgent meeting with top officials of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) after the government finishes delivering its policy statement in Parliament today.

He said the recent 20-year ground lease extension worth about Bt25 billion by landlord Chulalongkorn University for MBK Shopping Centre in Pathum Wan would be the model for dealing with Central, the country's largest department store operator.

Central leased the vast site near Lat Phrao intersection from the SRT three decades ago to construct its sprawling retail and hotel complex.

The SRT has eng-aged Knight Frank Charter (Thailand) and the Agency for Real Estate Affairs to ap-praise the property's value based on both cost and income methods.

Santi said the SRT might not be as successful as Chulalongkorn in its lease talks because the two properties were situated in different areas of Bangkok.

However, the return must be fair to the SRT since the commercial value of the Central Lat Phrao complex will be buoyed by nearby big-scale property projects and mass-transit expansion schemes.

Central has about Bt2 billion invested in its Lat Phrao complex consisting of a five-floor shopping mall, 600-room hotel, 10-floor office building and an exhibition centre.

In this final year of the lease, the SRT will receive just Bt10.6 million in rent from its prime property.

Santi also said he would quickly push for the expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport with a Bt52-billion budget as part of the government's single-airport policy.

During the previous Surayud Chulanont government, Don Mueang Airport was reopened for most domestic flights, raising the possibility that Bangkok could run two major airports.

However, dual airports were criticised as threatening the competitiveness of Bangkok as a regional aviation hub since international passengers would face severe inconvenience in transferring between airports while in transit.

Santi said he would call a meeting with top executives of Airports of Thailand to discuss the new government's single-airport policy. Consultants will then be hired to commence work on the construction project, with completion of a third runway, linkages to passenger terminals as well as automatic people movers expected in 66 months from this coming October.

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation