Mass-transit progress talks

The OTP will discuss progress towards the construction of six mass-transit routes in Bangkok and the leasing of 6,000 NGV-powered buses for the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA).

The six mass-transit routes include the Urban Line (Bang Sue to Taling Chan); the Red Line (Bang Sue to Rangsit ); the Blue Line (Bang Sue to Tha Phra and from Hualamphong to Bang Khae); the Green Line (Morchit to Saphan Mai); and the Light Green Line (Sukhumvit Soi 107 to Samut Prakan).

The OTP will report that construction of the Urban Line has yet to begin, pending the Central Administrative Court's ruling on alleged collusion among the bidders.

The Bang Sue-Rangsit route is awaiting loans from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). However, the OTP is confident that financing will be approved in September.

The JBIC is also considering loans to finance the Blue Line, and a decision is expected this year. Environmental-impact-assessment reports are being prepared for the Green and the Light Green lines. OTP director-general Soithip Trisuddhi yesterday said the JBIC wanted to finance all of the routes except the Red Line, for which bidding had already opened.

The OTP is confident that when construction of the six is complete, they will serve about 3 million passengers in the first three years, increasing to 6 million in 2016, he said. If all nine routes proposed are constructed, they will serve about 8 million passengers.

Soithip said the mass-transit system would save the Kingdom about Bt100 billion in energy costs, based on a retail price of Bt44 a litre for motor fuel.He said the OTP would also present a report to the mass-transit committee regarding a plan to lease 6,000 NGV-fuelled buses for the BMTA.

The report will also answer queries from the Finance Ministry and the Bureau of the Budget about the early retirement of BMTA officials and a Bt6.2-billion budget for hiring bus-fare collectors, the improvement of private buses and a Bt15 bus fare.