February 28: The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) informed the AEC that its deputy governor Yuthana Tapcharoen and inspector Surang Medee, both of whom played key roles in pushing for the Airport Rail Link project, resigned on Monday, a source said.

 The AEC has been investigating why the SRT ordered an insurance payment for the concession in place of the private sector. A source said Yuthana was behind the move.

 Yuthana submitted his resignation last Thursday, and it was approved by acting governor Thawil Samnakhon and the SRT board on Monday. Yuthana cited in his resignation that he had worked for the agency for more than 30 years and was volunteering to step down.

Background :

The Bt30billion rail link will run between downtown Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Airport and will be operated by the State Railway of Thailand.

The contract was awarded to a consortium comprising SinoThai Engineering and Construction, B Grimm Group and Siemens. Construction is to be finished in two years.

Investigators have looked into the Bt1.6 billion the Finance Ministry was ordered to pay to commercial banks as loan guarantees for the contractors.

The inquiry found tender conditions did not specify a ceiling on the guarantee or interest rates, placing an undue burden on the state. The team also found a Finance Ministry Letter of Comfort to Kasikornbank was wrong, because the ministry should not provide loan guarantees for privatesector companies.
The inquiry has questioned 11 of 15 witnesses.