Yuthana tipped as new railway chief

The decision will be crucial to both SRT and Central group - as the latter's land lease contract with SRT for a 47.2-rai site, where the sprawling Central Lad Prao retail complex is situated, will expire this December.

An extension of this multi-billion-baht 30-year land lease has been put on hold due to the absence of a governor with full authority to cut a deal with the private firm.

Over the past two years, SRT has had only acting governors.

Now, Yuthana, a former deputy governor familiar with previous negotiations with Central, seems likely to be appointed to the top post by the board following a recent order issued by Central Administrative Court regarding Yuthana's qualifications.

A source close to Central said there could be a conclusion between SRT and Central on the land deal soon if Yuthana became governor.

"Previously, we expressed an interest to extend the land lease contract with SRT a few times, but there has been no progress," said the Central source.

Other sources said the SRT board meeting, to be chaired by Somsak Boonthong today, is expected to name Yuthana as the new governor.

Previously, SRT indicated that Central has offered to pay Bt14 billion to the state enterprise in return for a 30-year extension of the lease.

However, Transport Minister Santi Prompat said the amount is too low and suggested that a reasonable offer should be around Bt30 billion.

Based on the existing contract, SRT is supposed to give Central first option to extend the contract by at least 10 years as Central has previously invested a significant amount into the site.

Currently, the properties include a five-storey shopping complex, a 3,000-vehicle car park, a 600-room hotel and a 10-storey office building among.

A transport ministry source said the extension of the lease has been delayed because Central's previous offer was less than what it considered a "fair amount", including an Bt8.5-billion offer for extending the contract by 20 years.